The Not-So-Invincible Tony Stark
by OgichiRocks
Summary: When Tony begins suffering from waves of pain as his body seems to reject the arc reactor, his friends are soon clued in to his predicament. Bruce Banner attempts to help, but will the results be what they want? Or will the Iron Man survive the night? And what happens when a mysterious force comes to terrorize the Avengers, and THINGS happen...
1. The Part where Tony gets hurt

He fell to the ground, writhing in the agony coming from his chest. It had happened again. Tony Stark's body slowed and finally became still as his clenched jaw released. The pain had passed, for now. Tony stood up and glanced around, with each attack his sense became more muddled. He saw he was still in his lab in Stark Towers, and he was still alone. He breathed a sigh of relief, then cringed at the ache in his chest. At least nobody saw it, I need to be more careful in the future. He thought to himself, busying his mind with his current project again.

"Hey Tony, what are you working on?" Steve came in the room, clad in a dark blue shirt and some jeans. He glanced at the projected screens that Tony was focusing on.

"Nothin' much stripes. To what do I owe the pleasure of your less-than spangly self?" He quipped back, swiping a few virtual mechanics into a virtual trashcan. His jaw was clenched, even everyday movement was becoming painful. But he wouldn't let anyone see it.

"We are thinking about going out for dinner, didn't know if you wanted to come or not. It's pizza, nothing special, just a night out to have fun since Thor is visiting." Steve stopped looking at the frankly confusing symbols flying around the scientist's body. He was more focused on getting a reply, everyone else was waiting for him downstairs.

"Sure, if it makes you feel any better I'll treat, but why not Shawarma?" Tony strode confidently onto the elevator, wiping his hands on a greasy rag. He wasn't too psyched about going out with his friends, mostly because he didn't want to succumb to an attack while he was out. He pulled vial out of his pocket and drank the contents, Steve glanced at him, but said nothing. The captain thought it was better when he had nothing to do with the crazy billionaire.

"Hey, good, you got him! I was worried he would refuse and spend another night in his lab." Pepper spoke to Steve as he and Tony exited the elevator at the ground floor. They were greeted by the smiling faces of Pepper, Thor, and a sheepish Bruce. The other two, Clint and Natasha waved but didn't really smile. Tony wondered if they even had a happy bone in their bodies.

They all exited the tower and walked across the street to their favorite pizza place.

"This was the best location for your home building man of iron. We barely have to move for food. Back on Asgard-"

"NO STORIES!" The whole group cut off Thor before he could start on one of his never ending story telling episodes. Natasha was the loudest, having fallen for his trap one day and being afraid to anger the God of Thunder, she had stayed for nearly a day listening about the time Thor had gone on an adventure to the store or something. Everybody had been warned after that and Thor didn't mind too much when he was cut off.

The team ate together in relative peace. They had a large round table that was usually reserved for them due to the frequency of their visits. Bruce sat next to Tony, who sat next to Clint, who sat next to Natasha, who sat next to Thor, who sat next to Steve, and completed the circle. Four large pizzas along with quite a few drinks (and broken glasses from Thor) later, the team was tired out and ready to head back. Tony was very tense, trying to hold his face in it's normal confident expression as another wave of pain his his chest, he felt like he was going to pass out. But he had to hold on, he couldn't stand to worry his friends.

Halfway across the street the attack hit him. Doubling over, he grit his teeth and balled his hands into fists as the worst possible pain swept through is usually strong frame. The team all turned with shocked and worried faces as their friend fell to the ground, half conscious.

"Quickly, we need to get him to the medical level, help me pick him up." Steve took charge immediately, realizing they were all in the middle of a busy road, he had Clint and Natasha help pick up Steve while Bruce ran ahead and Thor stopped traffic.

"I do hope the man of iron is alright. Back in Asgard…" Thor glanced over his shoulder to see them safely reach the sidewalk, he turned and followed after, forgetting his story for the moment.

The double doors to Stark Towers closed behind the team as they all helped carry Tony's heavy form to the elevator that Bruce had propped open. The limp form in their hands was mumbling softly and every few seconds would tense and become rigid as he was hit by another shock of pain.

Bruce, being the Avengers designated doctor, was on Stark in a flash after Steve, Clint, and Natasha had set him on one of the hospital beds in the infirmary. He cut off Tony's shirt and revealed the glowing arc reactor underneath. The skin around the metal was red and covered in blisters. The arc itself was beginning to flicker as Tony's breathing became erratic and harsh.

"Somebody call Pepper, she needs to know what's going on." Steve stared at his friends form on the bed, attempting to stay in control of his emotions, how had this happened? Why hadn't he noticed before? Thinking back, he had noticed how Tony was more tense and less talkative. "Speaking of that, what is happening? Banner, any ideas?"

"Not yet Steve. It appears that the arc reactor is causing some irritation to the skin around it. It also appears to be very painful and affecting Tony's breathing." The doctor moved around the room, hooking up wires and clips to his friends form. Before he could finish though, Tony stopped moving for a moment and everyone held there breath. Then he woke up.

"What hap- oh. OH." Tony said as he woke up and looked at his surroundings. His worst fear for the past week had come true. Now he was on everyones minds, they would never let him do anything after this. And while he loved being the center of attention, he didn't like the way it was aimed this time.

"Tony, are you okay? What do you feel right now? How long has this been happening?" Bruce, normally quiet and reserved was bursting with questions. His face was a mask of pain and worry for his science buddy. His hands were frantically shaking and clasping and unclasping as he waited for an answer.

"I'm-" Tony grunted as a headache hit, but sat up none the less, "I'm fine, it was just an attack, it's happened before. It usually only lasts a few minutes. Stop worrying. Wait, you didn't call Pepper did you?" The words had barely left his mouth when Natasha walked in from the other room and announced that Pepper was on her way. Her eyes fell on Tony and widened when she saw the look of outrage and pure dismay.

Hundreds of thoughts ran through Tony's head. Mainly focusing on the one thing he had really hoped wouldn't happen. Pepper finding out. He had known since the first few attacks that his teammates would inevitably find out, but he had always counted on the fact that he would tell them, or they wouldn't call Pepper. But now they had, the deed was done, there was no going back now, he had to face her. Face her and see the look of worry and anger that he hadn't told her before. See her need to help him, and tell her that there was no help she could give.

"How much did you tell her?" His tone was serious, very unlike the usual smart remarks he made. His team could only stare. They had never thought this would happen in their wildest dreams. Tony Stark being serious? HA.

"Just that you were unconscious and she should come soon." Natasha said calmly, trying to diffuse the argument that was boiling behind Starks eyes. "She needed to know, but lets not talk about her right now, okay?"

"Okay." The fire in Tony's eyes went away as he seemed to accept his fate.

"Why don't you tell us what's up with your glow stick chest?" Clint piped up from his position leaning on the wall. "We're all dying to hear."

"It's the least you owe us for collapsing without warning in the middle of the road!" Steve said, glancing around as the rest of the team nodded their heads in agreement.

"Fine. I'll tell you what I know, but it's not much. The 'attacks' as I call them started happening a week or so ago. At first it was manageable, just a sharp stab of pain and then it would disappear. But they got increasingly worse, more pain and for longer times. Usually it was all I could do to stay standing. The last attack was by far the worst. I thought I was going to die." As he spoke, the others could hear the strain in his voice, see the way his fingers gripped the sides of he bed. He was obviously still in pain, although he still wouldn't admit it. "Otherwise, I'm fine. The blistering was expected from the constant contact of metal on skin. It's basically a rash. Nothing to worry about, but I'll put some lotion on if you insist."

"Tony, I want to do some tests before you go back up to your lab. I'm not sure that these episodes, or attacks are having any sort of positive effect on you. I think you should be more serious about your health. You have Pepper to think of." Bruce continued putting the rest of the wires on Starks torso, it seemed the man had lost all his fight. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

"We'll head on upstairs then. Good luck Banner." Steve prompted the rest of the crew to follow him to the elevator and each went to his or her room for a good nights sleep. Bruce stayed behind and began running tests on his friend and fellow scientist. Tony fell into a dreamless sleep full of a dull pain that refused to go away.

Hope you like! Please review and I'll post the next chapter!


	2. The part where Tony gets captured

**I have come to the realization that in the beginning of the previous chapter Pepper kind of disappears, well I'm going to explain that as she was on her way to the airport and said hi to them when they were going to eat pizza before she left.**

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Tony awoke in the morning with a pounding headache, but his chest was barely sore, although the rest of his body was a little achey. He looked down and saw the Arc Reactor was still glowing a soft blue on his bare chest, his bare, blister-free chest. Frowning in confusion, he decided to get up and find Banner to ask what he had done. His breathing was easier and his headache slowly subsided as he walked to the elevator, slowly stretching out the kinks from sleep. In short, he felt way better than he had in a long time. But he couldn't help wondering if it was just the calm before the storm.

Bruce was in the main level of Stark Towers, along with Natasha, Steve and Pepper. Tony flinched when he saw Pepper turn towards him, anticipating an outraged lecture on irresponsibility. Instead, she ran towards him and gave him a big hug. Her face was shocked for a moment, before dissolving into a sad smile.

"Did I do something wrong? I thought you would be mad." His voice came out a little hoarse and he realized that he was very thirsty. "Yo Cap, fetch me a glass of water would ya?"

Steve nodded, his eyes wide, and grabbed a glass from the shelf. Bruce only stared at Tony. Natasha turned and walked into another room, trying to hide an expression of shock on her face, and probably going to alert the rest of the team. Pepper pulled back and stared into Tony's eyes, her face was full of worry and relief at the same time.

"What's up? I've go three questions. One, why is everyone staring? Two, why is everyone being so nice? And Three, what time is it? I'm starving." Nobody moved, and nobody seemed willing to answer any of his questions. Tony looked at the others with confused eyes. "Am I…missing something?"

"Tony….oh Tony…. you've been asleep for six weeks." Pepper reached down and held Tony's hand, but her boss's eyes had gone blank. His expression remained neutral, but she could see his inner turmoil.

"I figured out what was happening with your arc reactor, but when I tried to fix it, your body went into complete shutdown." Bruce tried to explain, but Tony wasn't listening.

"Six weeks." His whisper was barely audible, he was mostly talking to himself now, figuring out how he felt about being asleep for six weeks.

"Not quite as fun as it sounds, is it? And I was like that for seventy years." Steve handed Tony his glass of water and attempted to lighten the mood a bit. It didn't work and his joke fell flat on the floor.

Tony accepted the glass, but didn't drink out of it. He slowly turned, pushing Pepper's helping hand away, and went to the elevator. The doors closed behind him, and a collective sigh was released from the people in the main room. The tension had been higher than they thought, but was all released at once when Tony left.

"I didn't mean to break the news like that. It just slipped out." Pepper moved and sat on the couch, head down and shoulders slumped.

"It's okay, he would have figured it out eventually. Especially when he checked the date. Nobody blames you." Bruce comforted Pepper.

"The rest of the team has been alerted of Tony's status." Natasha walked in, followed by Clint, and Thor.

"Is it not a wondrous occasion that the Man of Iron has awoken?" Thor smiled, but he soon grasped the situation. Tony might never be the same, he had missed six weeks of his life, nobody could predict how this would affect him.

The atmosphere in the room was depressed, and slowly each Avenger excused him/herself from the room. Natasha and Clint went to find breakfast, while Thor and Steve received a mission file from SHIELD and went to review it in privacy. Bruce told Pepper he would check on Tony. Pepper stayed in the main room, huddled on the couch, waiting for Tony to come back for her.

Bruce found Tony in his lab, he was blasting ACDC as loud as the hidden speakers would go. Bruce had to yell to get his attention before he would turn it off. Tony was sitting on the floor next to an Oldsmobile he had partially taken apart in the last few minutes. His expression was grim, and his motions jerky and angry. He threw a piece of the car across the room before he noticed Bruce standing there.

"What do you want?" He didn't stand up or even attempt to put on a brave face. He was hurt, and sad, and everyone could tell.

"I just want to know if you're okay, Tony. I know it must be a shock to have missed six weeks, but we can easily fill you in on everything that happened. Just like Steve." His last remark backfired, Tony did not want to be 'just like Steve'.

"I'm fine, I just want to be alone for now. I need to think. Anyways, how did you get access to my private lab?" Tony glanced up for a moment to look at Bruce, and Bruce took this as a good sign.

"JARVIS let me in. He knows about your condition, but I won't come back if you don't want me to." Bruce took a few steps towards the door. He felt like Tony's curiosity was a good thing, but he also felt like Tony would get very mad if he stayed around much longer. Bruce partially blamed himself for putting Tony to sleep on accident, he had lost many a night of sleep thinking about how to correct his mistake.

"No..it's..it's okay, you can stay. There's an empty project table over there," Tony pointed across the room, "You can start whatever project you want over there."

"Okay Tony, thanks. I'll be right back down to start working, I'll just gather some of my other materials from the main lab." Bruce heaved a mental sigh or relief. Maybe Tony would be able to accept the missing days and go back to normal after a while. He left the lab with a slight smile on his face, he could hear the music turned back on behind him, but could tell it wasn't nearly as loud as it was before.

Tony was sad. Sadder than he had ever been, more so even than when he had been captured by the Ten Rings and tortured. He didn't even have the strength to hide it. But he could tell, in the deepest part of his mind, that he would overcome it. It would just need time. He sighed and turned on his music again as Bruce left. Tony stood up and walked to where he had thrown the piece of his car, he gently picked it up and resumed his position on the floor next to the car.

He was so absorbed in his work that he almost didn't notice the alarm. JARVIS quickly shut off the music though, alerting Tony to a problem.

"Sir, it appears there has been a series of explosions nearby the tower. I'm calculating patterns right now. I suggest you suit up."

"Duly noted JARVIS. I'm on my way." Tony pushed his feelings to the back of his mind and focused on the new threat. As soon as he was in his suit and connected to the com system, he could tell this was a big problem, but not too big for the Avengers.

"Thor, get somewhere high up, we need lighting. And Hawkeye, you too, watch the edges and alert us to any more explosions. Black Widow you stay with me and we'll cover the ground. Hulk, you know what to do." Captain America was already on the ground and had dealt out all his orders when Tony flew down in his suit.

"Didn't you forget someone?" He said, back to his normal self, although there was a hint of jealousy for the team that he had been left out of for six weeks. Everybody seemed to have formed such tight bonds that Steve's orders were mostly unnecessary. Everyone's actions seemed planned before the attack had even started. Tony frowned under his mask, how could he ever build such good relationships with his team if they had a six week head start?

"Tony! We didn't think you would come out, we can handle this. It's a small threat, these aliens have been attacking just about once a week for a while now. They are really easy to take down though." Steve proved his point by turning and killing a few of the insect like creatures with ease.

"Okay, then I'll just help you, the more the merrier right?" Tony didn't wait for an answer though, he flew off and began using his palm blasters to clean the streets of the city. Steve had been right though, less than half an hour later they were done, every beast was slain. They reconvened at Stark Towers.

"Great job everybody, who's up for a snack?" It was almost lunch time and everyone agreed with Steve about the snack. Tony quickly took off his armor and caught up with them at the pizza restaurant that was his last memory. Images of himself falling to the ground and memories of a dull pain came back as they crossed the street. His hand unconsciously reached up and touched the cold metal circle beneath his shirt. He shook his head and caught up with everyone else. He focused on being his normal self again, he didn't want to have anyone worried over him.

"So would anyone like to get me up to date on what's been happening for these past weeks?" They were all seated around their usual table when Tony dropped the question.

"Sure Tony." Bruce said, he didn't want to anger Tony since he was acting so normal now. "Not much happened, we've been fighting these little guys for a while, but no major attacks or invasions while you were out. I should warn you that we had to alert SHIELD that you were asleep, but we haven't told them you're awake yet, we decided you would need a day before dealing with Fury. I think the rest should be told by Pepper, she's been basically running your business so she'll know more about that." Bruce finished his explanation and Tony looked thoughtful. Maybe if he decides he didn't miss much then he'll be able to recover faster, Bruce thought to himself, studying Tony's movements.

"Okay, I guess I have to go talk to Pepper then. But I'd like to talk with you again later Bruce about what you did to make me sleep." Tony sounded fine, thoughtful, maybe a bit quiet, but fine.

Tony sat at the table, munching his pizza with the rest of the team. They left the restaurant a little bit later and went back across the street to the tower. Tony noticed a few nervous glances his way, but shook them off with a confident smile. He wouldn't show anybody his feelings, he hated being looked at with pity and sorrow.

Pepper greeted them and congratulated them on a job well done. Then she turned to Tony and he saw her eyes light up when she saw him acting so normal. He asked her about the company after giving her a big hug. She told him the stocks were fine and nothing had happened while he was out. The company was fine. This reassured Tony and now he wore a real smile. He spent the rest of his day in the public lab with Bruce and the occasional visitor.

Everybody went to sleep at a normal time that night, even Tony, who was allowed to sleep in his own bed again, although Bruce had insisted on giving him a few tests in the morning. He also had to worry about his meeting with Director Fury, they hadn't contacted SHIELD yet, but it was inevitable, and all they could do to make Steve agree to wait until morning. He couldn't fall asleep at first, but slowly he slipped off, his body tired from so much exertion after six weeks of sleep. No sooner had he fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep, than he was awoken sharply by the sound of breaking glass. He shot up in his bed, eyes wide in the darkness and still half asleep.

"JARVIS? Lights please." His voice was groggy and tired, he felt a breeze and saw one of his windows was broken. The lights turned on as JARVIS received his command. Tony looked around his room, he knew something must have flown in the window, something very hard, since it was extra-thick glass. He thought he heard a step behind him and whipped his head around, just in time to be stabbed by a needle and put to sleep. Again.

Tony felt like he was dreaming, but it felt so real at the same time. Images flashed across his mind. Images of death and decay, bloody bodies and stinking pits and flies. A buzzing noise that wouldn't stop. He felt himself being carried and thrown onto the ground. He rolled over and sat up, only to have the ground reach up and hit him. There was dirt everywhere and the persistent buzzing, like a hive of bees or a snare drum line passing by. His face and chest was pounding and his arms and legs felt like they were a million miles from his body. All he could see was red, permeated only by the soft blue glow of his arc reactor, but even that faded in the end. Slowly the images passed away, along with the sound, and his mind entered the black abyss of sleep.

Tony felt like he was in hell. His body ached and he could feel numerous cuts and bruises all over his body. He opened his eyes and squinted, it was dark and the air had a reddish hue to it. He tried to move, but realized he was strapped to a chair. His hands were tied behind him and his ankles were strapped to the legs of the chair. He blinked a few times until his eyes adjusted and his vision cleared a bit. He could tell in the dim light that he was in some kind of cave. An acrid smell hit his nose and he flinched, resisting his sudden urge to throw up. He couldn't appear weak to his captors.

Suddenly he saw, or really, sensed movement in the dim cavern in front of him. Footsteps were approaching his chair, he tried to get out of his bonds again, but only knocked over the chair. He hit his side on the dirt ground and the world turned sideways. A light was traveling down the hall in front of him, it was getting steadily brighter as it neared. Tony had used all his strength in knocking the chair over, so all he could do was wait for the light to approach. His breathing was ragged and he could feel his heart beat like the pounding of ocean waves.

"He wasn't awake last time I checked, what makes you think that he is now?"

"I heard him move I tell ya. Anyways if he is awake then we can bring him to the boss." The insect like whispers carried down the passage to Tony's ears. He didn't like the thought of meeting a boss in his current state.

He didn't have any more time to think though, because at that moment the two guards turned a corner and revealed themselves to Tony. They were short and hunched over, with multiple arms sticking out from their brown think hides and wings protruding from their pock marked backs. Tony thought that they looked like giant cockroach frankensteins, just the same as the ones he had fought with his team the other day. He didn't know how long ago that had been. It felt like ages though.

The guards immediately noticed that he had knocked over his chair and was awake. They hauled him up, causing him to let out an involuntary moan as his head swam, and untied him from the chair. He didn't even have the strength to speak, although about a thousand smart remarks were running through his head, mostly involving giant bugs from space. They re-bound his hands together but left his legs free, they expected him to walk. He would have, too, but at that moment his legs decided to stop working, and he only slumped to the ground. Eyes half closed and brain half functioning. They kicked him and one bent down to slap his face. Tony could tell they were yelling at him to move, but he couldn't. They seemed to come to a decision and Tony felt them lift him up and start carrying him down the tunnel. All he could think was 'I'm being carried by giant cockroach bees' and then he slipped from consciousness.

When Tony finally awoke, he found himself in a much cleaner room with a cot and a little sink in it. The walls were still a brownish color and the floor was dirt, but it was much better than being tied to a chair. He realized he was wearing only some dirty army pants, there were little brown stains on them that made him think of blood. Tony got up and splashed his face with the water from the sink. He flinched when it hit his face in a burst of ice cold. He heard a rattle and the slide of metal on metal and turned in time to see food being dropped into his room through a slot in the door. He had just enough time to lunge at the food and catch it before it hit the ground. It was a semi-rotten apple and an uncooked potato. Tony thought this was odd, but then he remembered he was being held by cockroach people and they probably didn't know what humans ate. He ate the apple anyway, and attempted to eat the potato, but it was so repulsive that his stomach would not keep it down. He gave up after that, laying down on his cot, he decided to wait for his meeting with the boss that he vaguely remembered from what seemed like the previous night, but could have been days ago. Tony was having a hard time keeping up with time.

Sitting on his cot, Tony wondered if the Avengers were searching for him now. He didn't know how long he had been down in that hell hole. He had been waiting for what seemed like hours. Being the inventor that he was, he wasn't used to not having something to do. He had spent a while washing all the grime and dirt out of his cuts and attempting to clean his hair, but he hadn't gotten very far when the water stopped coming. He had mentally scolded himself for using up his only water.

There was a clang and Tony saw the door slowly begin to open, he knew this was his chance if he wanted to escape. He hid behind the door and when the guard entered his room he slipped around the door and out into the hallway. He didn't look back but ran to the right as fast as he could. He turned corner after corner and climbed stairs when he came across them. From his surroundings he found that he was in a network of tunnels and caves deep beneath the surface. He had been cold in the clammy air before, but once he started running he warmed right up. He turned a corner after a particularly long flight of stairs and was blinded for a moment as sunlight hit him. Once his eyes had adjusted he saw that the light came from an opening in the tunnel ceiling, and through it he could see clouds on a blue sky.

This sight refreshed Tony and gave him new energy, he ran for another fifteen minutes and found a staircase labeled 'surface', it was the first written word he had seen in the entire compound. He slowed down and began ascending the stairs. His breathing became more normal and his brain seemed to catch up because he was suddenly suspicious of his easy escape. He hadn't run into any guards at all. Then he remembered how Steve had said they were really wimpy enemies and pushed the thought aside. He had reached the top of the stairs.

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**Thank you for reading and if you review then I'll torture tony some more :} **

**Also, i need to know if you want him to escape or if there should be an army at the top of the stairs... So review and tell me!**


	3. The Part where Tony escapes, maybe

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers... :(**

The bright sunlight blinded Tony as he stepped out of the stairwell. He paused to let his eyes adjust and give his sore legs a rest. He was breathing heavily and could feel every single hurt on his body at once. He almost couldn't stand anymore, but his resolve steeled when he finally saw what was before him. He was standing in a sort of aircraft hangar with a few single-man fighting planes in it. They were old looking and he wasn't sure any of them would run. He was also surrounded by crates and random junk scattered around. He realized that he was probably at the back entrance. But what held most of his attention was the giant dust cloud nearing on the horizon. He squinted and held up a hand to shield the sun from his eyes and tried to make out what was causing the cloud. His mind was full of images of cowboys and stampeding cattle from old western movies he had seen as a kid.

The cloud was approaching fast and Tony decided he didn't want to be there when it arrived. He ran to the nearest plane, finding a ladder nearby he climbed up to the cockpit, the glass windshield was open and he slipped inside. He was happy to find that the plane had gas and appeared to be in working condition. Although he had never flown a plane before, he had watched Natasha fly one of the twin jets before and thought he could figure it out. He glanced out the window and saw the cloud was less than a mile out. Quickly he pulled on the helmet and flicked some switches that looked important. A low rumbling came from the engine and Tony took the steering wheel and pushed forward like he had seen Natasha do before. The plane began to roll forward, slowly, but gaining speed. Tony aimed it for the small runway and tried to make it go faster. The cloud of dust was almost on him. He looked closer and realized that it was the cockroach bees, hundreds of thousands of them. They looked angry so Tony flipped more switches and he heard a thunk and saw a light flashing on the small screen in the dashboard. It simply said 'armed', armed with what? Tony didn't know, but now the hoard was on the runway and set for a collision course with his plane. He sent a mental wish to the sky hoping that he was not releasing a nuclear bomb, and pressed the red button on the joystick. A blast of rapid fire bullets shot into the hoard ahead of him. Tony let out a woop, he was picking up speed and the runway was clear after a short sweep of bullets. He pulled back on the wheel and the plane tilted back and then he was flying.

"Beat that slime-roaches!" He yelled, even though they couldn't hear him.

*BANG* Tony twisted around in his seat when the craft rocked to the side. One of the bugs had jumped in time to land on his right wing. The plane listed to the right, he was still dangerously low to the ground. He pulled back on the wheel and the plane began to climb, higher and higher. The cockroach alien was barely holding on to the wing now. Tony jerked the wheel to the right and sent the plane into an upward spiral. The cockroach bee was thrown off with a sickening squeal and Tony righted the plane. Entering a slow cruise and fiddling with the instruments. He had no idea where he was and the plane didn't have any GPS system. He tried the radio and only got static. He decided to fly north as far as the plane would take him on the half tank of gas it had left.

Tony flew low to the ground, the plane was nearly out of gas and he was still in the desert. He needed to set it down so he attempted to slow down the plane, but soon realized he had no idea how to land. He wasn't even sure if the landing gear was out or in. Aiming for a large dune, Tony brought the plane as close as he could to the ground before he slammed into the sand. His body was thrown forward, only to be caught painfully by the shoulder straps of his seat belt. His head still hit the dashboard though, and he was knocked unconscious for a few moments.

When Tony woke up again he slowly began to check for injuries. He moved his arms and fingers first, they were bruised, but nothing was broken. Then he moved his legs. His right leg checked out fine, all toes were intact, but when he moved his left a sharp searing pain shot up from his ankle. It was broken. He couldn't even wiggle his toes without sending himself into a semi-conscious wave of nauseating pain. At the same time, he knew he needed to get out of the plane and head for civilization. He yelled at himself for refusing to have a tracking device implanted in him like the rest of the team. Steve had argued with him but in the end he had won. Now he regretted it, he regretted almost every moment he had said something mean to one of his teammates. Almost, some of them deserved a comment every once in a while.

The pain in his leg drew him back to the cockpit and his perilous situation. He had managed to cover nearly a hundred miles in the plane, but still had no idea where he was. He decided that since he couldn't move with his ankle, he would spend some time trying to fix the radio. He pulled apart the compartment that held the radio and began to re-wire it. He soon found the problem, one of the important receiving wires had been cut neatly in half. He quickly stripped both ends and reconnected them. He held up the receiver to his mouth and pressed the button.

"Hello, does anybody read me?" Tony's voice was rough from dehydration. "I repeat, does anybody read me? I need help."

"kshhhhhh…we read…kshhh….coordinates…..kshhhh.." A faint reply came through and Tony's heart leapt, then it fell when he realized he didn't know his coordinates.

"I don't know my coordinates. This is Tony Stark. Can you contact SHIELD?" Tony fiddled with the wires and nobs on the dashboard, attempting to get a better signal.

"Tony Stark, we will contact SHIELD immediately. There is a tracking box in your plane they can connect to. Please stand by, over." Tony let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair. It would only be a matter of time before his team would be there to save him.

And then it hit him. He couldn't breathe. His arc reactor was on fire, not literally, but he could feel it burning his skin. It was even emitting little sparks. Tony's back arched, but he was still held back by the straps on his shoulders. He gritted his teeth and groaned in the pain. His hands would not move to his chest, he dropped the radio receiver and clenched his fists in agony. His ankle was forgotten as he writhed in his seat. Quiet before the storm, he was right when he thought that after he had first woken up in Stark Towers what felt like months ago. This pain was worse than any he had ever experienced before. The worst part was that he couldn't pass out, his body kept him awake as each spasm and wave racked his body. He regained enough control of his hands to pull up his shirt and get a good look at his life source. It was flickering madly and steam was coming from the edges. He tried to touch it and his hand was pushed back by a powerful surge of energy that reminded him, for some reason, of the Tesseract. He looked at his hand and he could see it was red and burnt. His skin was boiling and every movement was painful. Tony felt like the attack was never going to end. He cried out for Pepper, calling for her to stop the pain. But she didn't come. And everything faded away.

The Avengers woke up one by one. Natasha and Pepper helped prepare breakfast for everyone. They were planning on celebrating Tony being back. Bruce walked in, followed by Steve.

"Mmm, smells good! What's cooking?" Clint said, raising his hands above his head in a stretch.

"It's bacon and eggs, and the rest is a surprise." Pepper called out cheerily from the kitchen where she was teaching Natasha how to make eggs.

"Great, I can't wait for some food, I'm starving already. You guys are making my mouth water." Steve said in his complimentary manner.

"The sizzling of meat is always a gracious noise to my ears! Greetings to the morning everyone." Thor strode in with a smile on his face. "Will we let the Iron one sleep in?"

"I thought we could, but I'll wake him up when breakfast is ready." Clint said.

"Sir, I am sorry to inform you but Mr. Stark has been taken." JARVIS startled everyone with his bodiless voice.

"What do you mean JARVIS?" Pepper said, her expression immediately changed from happy to extremely concerned. JARVIS never lies.

"He was taken from his room early this morning. My protocol was overridden so I was unable to alert anyone until this morning."

The room was immediately on high alert, Clint and Steve ran to Tony's room and saw that indeed he had been taken. They were immediately all business, Natasha left her eggs sizzling and ran into the main room. Clint was already on the phone with SHIELD and Steve had one of the tv monitors set up to show the security camera feed from Tony's room last night.

"There, see." Bruce pointed at the screen. On it was a black and white image of a cockroach like creature bursting through the window. They saw it skitter across the room and hid behind the bed. They watched as Tony sat up and looked around, he arc reactor a white point on the screen. There was a collective gasp as they watched the creature leap on Tony and his body go limp. Then the creature made use of it's hideous wings and flew out of the room.

"The same guys we've been fighting with the past six weeks." Bruce said in a whisper.

"SHIELD says we need to get to the helicarrier and begin a search." Clint hung up his phone and they all went to the roof where an emergency twin jet was stored. They were at the helicarrier in a few hours, out over the ocean.

They searched for days, Steve mentally berating himself for not forcing the millionaire to get the tracking device implanted like the rest of the team. Thor searched by flying with his hammer, Clint and Natasha each flew a twin jet and Steve stayed with Bruce on the helicarrier. Bruce had set up an algorithm that he hoped would pinpoint the energy signal of the arc reactor. Steve felt useless, he didn't know how to fly a twin jet, or set up algorithms, so he was mostly just commander.

"How long do you think it'll take to pinpoint his location?" Steve asked bruce. They were standing in the repaired lab where they had first been assembled so long ago to fight the threat of Loki.

"The one that is searching for the arc reactor will be constantly scanning, but it may prove useless if he is underground. I also just finished another algorithm that should track the cockroach monsters to their base. It may help us find Tony." Bruce was typing and swiping furiously on the semi-seethrough computer screens around him. Steve noticed the physicists eyes were intense with worry, and behind that, the fear of being too late.

"I'll go and see what Fury is up to." Steve excused himself and walked around to the main hub of the flying structure. Fury was standing at his normal post, surrounded by computer screens.

"What's up Captain?" Director Fury turned when Steve walked in the room.

"Just checking up, any sightings while I was gone?" Steve only asked because he had nothing else to do, he knew they would have alerted him immediately if they had spotted something.

"Nope, but we have reason to believe he is not in America. One of our satellites picked up a small flying object and tracked it across the ocean to Africa before we lost it in the desert. Hawkeye and Black Widow are circling there right now. Thor is checking the outer edges of the desert." Steve heaved a sigh of relief, they had narrowed it down to a much smaller area than the world. He saluted Fury, who insisted on using their code names instead of 'Steve' or 'Natasha'.

"Narrow your search patterns to the african desert area. Fury says they know he is somewhere around there." Steve informed Bruce. He felt like an errand runner between the two, but he pushed his own feelings aside and focused on the screens around him. Bruce typed in a few things and one of the screens showed a rotating earth, it zoomed in to show a close up of Africa.

"There we go, we should find him in an hour at most." Bruce said, and they both felt a little spark of hope. The ground vibrated beneath them as the thrusters were turned on and the helicarrier made it's slow way towards Africa.

*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP* Red lights on all the computer screens began flashing and Bruce turned into a flurry of motion.

"We've got a match on the arc reactor signal. It's in the middle of the desert." Bruce looked up at Steve, but he was already out of the lab and rushing to inform Fury.

"Director Fury, we have a location for Tony's arc reactor." Steve alerted Fury, who immediately tapped in to the lab's database and pulled up Bruce's found coordinates. A red dot was flashing on a zoomed in satellite photo of sand.

"Call Hawkeye, Black Widow and Thor, give them the coordinates and ready an ambulance twin jet, Captain you can ride with them, along with Bruce if he wants." The bridge became a flurry of motion, one junior soldier came up to Director Fury and whispered in his ear. "Put them on the speaker, then."

A loud and crackly voice came over the speakers, it sounded like an old radio transmission to Steve.

"SHIELD, do you copy? kshhhhhh…" Said a male voice.

"We copy, tell us what you need to." Fury shouted back.

"We have..kshhheee…believe Tony Stark…kshhh…Crashed…requests immediate medical attention, over." The voice slowly became clearer as the transmission went on.

"We have his coordinates, thank you for the update, we will enter your airspace momentarily." Fury signaled and the connection was cut.

Steve headed out to the main deck, followed by Bruce, who had agreed to come along in case Tony needed help with his arc reactor again. They boarded the medical twin jet with two paramedics. It lifted off and was soon flying low over the desert. Steve and Bruce put in their ear pieces and were immediately tuned in to the rest of the team.

"Nearing the point, still no visual." Natasha's voice sounded first.

"Copy that, same here, coming in opposite to you." Clint checked in next.

"I will not make it for a few minutes, do not wait for me." Thor had been farther out than anybody.

"Great job guys, we are headed out with a medical jet to meet you. When you get there be sure to check for injury before you try to move him." Steve stood behind the pilot, staring at the horizon, hoping to see something soon.

"I have a visual. It appears to be a plane wreck. I think Tony is in the cockpit. I'm landing nearby." Natasha was the first to reach him, as she exited the jet she could see Clint's jet approaching from her left. She ran to the wrecked jet plane before her. Climbing onto a wing she made her way slowly to the cockpit. He eyes widened and she held back a gasp when she found Tony, his hands were on his chest, covering his arc reactor. She could see his ankle was swollen and a deep sickly reddish purple color.

"His ankle seems to be broken, he is unconscious, I don't want to move him until medical help arrives." Natasha informed the others, just as Clint hopped up onto the other side of the plane and stared at Tony's limp form. He checked for a pulse, his eyes showed concern and worry, but he breathed again when he felt the weak beating of Tony's heart.

"He's alive, but barely." Clint held his voice steady although his feelings were out of control. What had happened to Tony? Where had he been? He had escaped, but at what cost?

"I'm going to move his arms to take a look at his arc reactor." Natasha slowly bent over the edge of the cockpit, the burning sun on her side. It was nearly sunset. She carefully lifted one arm at a time and set them gently on his sides. She slowly pulled up the rest of his shirt and nearly gagged at what she saw. Tony's chest was once again covered in angry red sores and blisters. His arc reactor was flickering ever so slightly. She noticed that Tony's breathing was irregular and his pulse, while still there, was very weak. Clint pulled out a water bottle from the emergency pack he had brought from the twin jet, he tilted Tony's head back and trickled some water between his lips. The scientist coughed weakly trying to purge the liquid from his lungs. His eyelids flickered as he tried to wake up. Then his face grimaced and he clenched his jaw, weakly struggling against some form of pain.

"Tony, wake up Tony, we need you to be here right now." Natasha held his head in her hands and shook it a little bit, trying to get him to wake up all the way. "Come on Tony, please." Her voice cracked on the last word and Tony's eyes flicked open.

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**I hope you like it! Not many of you responded to my question of what should happen at the top of the stairs, so I improvised. Sorry for the Tony-free part in the middle, I had to catch up to the Avengers' actions. **

**I need suggestions and reviews please! Only 7 reviews so far, thats in one day...so keep it up i guess...**

**More Tony whump coming! **


	4. The part where the floor is tilted

**Hello faithful readers! Here is another chapter for you! I had originally finished the story after this chapter, but then I thought: This could be a little longer. **

**So here's another chapter, and many more after hopefully. But I will post the 'alternate ending' at the very end for those of you who want to only read that.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Avengers... :(**

"mphnggg…Heyz…" Tony managed to squeeze the word out of his burning lungs. He looked at the water bottle Clint still held in his hand and Clint took it as a sign to give him some more. Tony's lips were weak and wobbly and he spilled most of the water on his chest, which caused the arc reactor to spit and hiss, and Tony to flinch. "-at's nough." He coughed again and Clint moved the bottle away, closed it and placed it back in the emergency kit he had.

"Tony, Can you hear me?" Natasha began to do a sensory check that Bruce had taught her on their way here. She waited until she got a slurred response from her patient before going on. "I need you to look at my finger, follow it with your eyes."

Natasha held out her index finger in front of Tony's face and watched his eyes closely as she moved her hand back and forth, his eyes were a little unfocused, she noted, but he seemed to be able to follow the target easily enough. Next she made Tony wiggle all his muscles, starting with his fingers and (minus his left leg) his toes. He was able to do that without too much pain, but Natasha suspected that the real pain was radiating from his chest. By the time she finished her check up, Bruce and Steve had arrived via twin jet. Thor arrived soon after, speeding in using his hammer as a propeller. They immediately set to work gently lifting Tony out of the cockpit and onto a stretcher. He was given an oxygen mask which he gladly accepted, it seemed he had been having more trouble breathing than they thought. They loaded the stretcher onto the jet and took off. Thor went with them, leaving Natasha and Clint to fly the other two jets back to base.

Tony was muttering constantly in his delirious state on the stretcher in the jet. Bruce was doing scans on his vitals while the two medics wrapped up his broken ankle. They would need to re-wrap it once they got to a more supplied hospital and did an x-ray scan. The oxygen mask was left on Tony because nobody wanted to hear what he was muttering about, when they had taken it off in the first place, all Tony was talking about was gross legs and cockroach wings. Bruce also hooked up an IV into Tony's left arm, right on the inside of his elbow. Tony flinched when the needle went in and let out an annoyed moan. Bruce just patted him on the shoulder.

They arrived at the Helicarrier and Tony was rushed off to the hospital wing, accompanied by Bruce. Thor and Steve were sent to the bridge to relay the events to Fury. They had just reached the door off the deck when two more jets landed behind them, they waited a bit and were soon joined by Natasha and Clint. They all headed up to the bridge and were greeted with an odd looking Fury. His face wore a look that almost could have resembled worry, if you squint your eyes and turn your head just so.

"Worried about the tin man, Fury?" Clint jibed.

"As a matter of fact, I am. You know why?" He continued before they could answer. "Because without Stark, we can kiss our fast responses goodbye, he's the only one who can monitor the news better than SHIELD." Fury barked out the last bit like it disgusted him to admit that Tony was better.

"So you're saying we aren't good enough?" Clint spoke what Steve, Natasha, and Thor had been thinking. He raised his voice. "You're saying we can't get the job done!?"

Clint turned and stormed off the bridge. Steve and the rest gave Fury an angry glare before turning and following the archer. Fury looked flabbergasted as they left, he hadn't meant what he said that way. He sighed and turned back to the screens in front of him, he would let them blow off steam, but he would need them if a threat arose.

The Avengers (minus Bruce and Tony) were assembled in the main lab area of the helicarrier. They were waiting for Bruce to give them news on Tony's surgery. They were also attempting to blow off steam from their almost fight with Fury. Clint and Steve were the most hurt at Fury's jibe. Thor was confused, and Natasha was silent. Clint paced back and forth, grumbling about control freaks. Steve leaned against a table and watched Clint, but he wasn't really paying attention, he was too busy thinking about Tony. He wondered what had happened to Tony while he was held captive, and how he had escaped.

Natasha glanced out one of the windows into the hallway, she seemed to think for a moment, and then announced she was going to go check on Bruce and Tony. The others nodded and she left, the door hissing closed behind her.

"I do not understand why you are angered?" Thor boomed at Clint and Steve. "Should you not be worried about our Iron friend?"

"I'm sorry Thor, we are very worried about Tony. It's just, what Fury said back there…" Steve was cut off by Clint, who rounded on Thor with unexpected venom.

"FURY doesn't have the right to say we are weak. We are the strongest team on earth! Next time he calls us to action, he can count me out." Clint snapped, Thor took a step back. Clint stormed out of the room. Steve could only agree with the archer, he wanted to punch Fury in the face too. Thor seemed a little less confused, and more likely to follow Steve and Clint than Fury now.

Just then the whole ship lurched to the side, throwing Steve and Thor against the windows of the lab. Luckily they had been repaired since the Hulk had smashed them. Thor grabbed Steve's waist and, holding Mjolner up, he leaped forward and grabbed the doorway on the other side of the room. He threw Steve into the hall, which was tilted at a sickly angle, though not quite ninety degrees. They glanced at each other and locked eyes, nodding, they both ran in the direction of the infirmary, intent on helping Tony.

Natasha entered the surgery observation room and joined Bruce to watch the doctors operate on their friend. Tony was covered in a white sheet, except for his head, chest, and left leg. The doctors were currently wrapping his leg in a white plaster cast and preparing to move onto his arc reactor, which they would need Bruce's help with. Bruce nodded at Natasha when she walked in, but never took his eyes off the patient below. Natasha could see little of Tony's face, he had an oxygen mask on, and there were wires connected to his head. From what she could see, though, his face was peaceful. His blood was probably pumped full of anesthesia and other drugs keeping the pain off, and him asleep.

She was about to ask Bruce how he was doing, when the floor shook and tilted. The two avengers were thrown onto the glass that they had been looking through. Luckily it didn't break, but they were lucky compared to the doctors, and Tony. He had been lightly secured on the operation table, but that wasn't enough to hold his entire body up when the helicarrier tilted. He ended up rolling off the bed, pulling free of many of the wires that he was hooked up to. The doctors were equally piled around and under him on the floor. Bruce and Natasha stared in shock for a moment before hastily groping there way to the tilted stairwell that led to the operation room.

Clint was wandering the halls when the floor tilted out from under him. He hit his head hard on the wall, falling to the floor in a daze. He shook his head and looked around himself. The floor was tilted to the side, he was alone in the hallway too. He stood up a little wobbly at first, and put his hand on the wall for a moment to steady himself and wait for the blood to rush back to his head so he could see. He stumbled down the hall, quickly gaining speed as he got used to walking sideways. He was heading to the infirmary.

He had almost reached the door labeled 'Surgery' when he ran into Steve and Thor, they nodded at each other, and burst through the doors into the operating room. Bruce and Natasha had managed to prop Tony up on the wall, Bruce was trying to hook up the wires again, with little success. Steve knelt down next to Tony, staring at his friends sweaty face. Tony was having trouble breathing again, although Natasha held the oxygen mask up to his mouth, it appeared to be giving little help.

"What can we do to help?" Thor asked, noticing the doctors that were slowly sorting themselves out of the pile they had fallen into. Thor didn't wait for an answer and dove straight into helping them untangle themselves and leave the room.

Tony was in a dark place. He couldn't see, or hear, or feel anything. His mind was just full of cotton. He tried to move, but it felt like he was stuck in ice. Like Steve he thought. He wondered if this was how Steve felt while he was in the ice. He should check that out back at his lab. Cryogenic freezing wasn't impossible you know. Then his thoughts trailed off and he was once more stuck in a dark place. Only this time he could see. It was very dark, but a tiny sliver of grey light fell on some walls that formed a small square room. He stood up - when did he sit down? - and looked around. It was just a square room. There were no doors, no windows, nothing but grey light and walls. He spun once more and froze when he saw a mirror. He took a step towards his reflection, and it didn't move. It wasn't a mirror. It was a copy.

His copy was grey, and older looking. It stood still, staring into Tony's eyes. It's hand was over it's chest, covering something, Tony thought. Tony took another step, and watched as his copy moved it's hand down, revealing a red circle, right where the blue of the arc reactor should have been. Tony stopped advancing, a stab of fear shot through him. He wanted to run, to scream, to cry, for no apparent reason. And then his copy disappeared in a burst of flames and he was back in the dark place.

He could faintly hear someone calling his name, but everything faded away before he could respond.

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and sorry for the lack of Tony-ness! Next chapter will be very full of Tony-whump and pain! Please review and I will update much sooner, seriously, it only takes one click!**


	5. The part where the power is out

**I hope this is another awesome chapter filled with awesomeness and Tony whump! I spent a lot of time this afternoon working on it just for you, my faithful reviewers! **

**Disclaimer: If I owned this then I wouldn't be writing disclaimer would I? Also, there would probably be about eight Iron Man movies already...**

**Listen! I put a hidden reference in this chapter...anybody who can find it will get a metaphorical badge of awesomeness! Review at the end and tell me if you know what it is and where it comes from!**

**Read On!**

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Tony was being carried. He could feel the strong, warm, arms underneath his body. It was Steve, carrying him in the bridal style. Tony would have been very embarrassed to be held in such a way, but he was in too much pain to even think about standing on his own, much less run, which is what was currently going on.

Steve, Thor, Bruce, and Natasha were hustling down the main hallway of the helicarrier towards the bridge. Bruce had given up on trying to hook Tony back up to the monitoring system and decided he would need to cope on his own for a while. The floor had slowly evened out as they ran, and they were able to make much better speed. Clint ran in front, followed by Natasha, then Steve carrying Tony, and finally Bruce and Thor.

They made it to the bridge, only to be nearly overwhelmed with movement. They could barely make out Fury, standing at his command post, over the rushing heads of SHIELD agents that filled the room. Steve moved through the crowd and set Tony down gently into one of the chairs bolted to the floor next to the meeting table. He then turned and joined the rest of the Avengers with Fury.

"Agents, we have a situation." Fury had to yell to be heard above the mayhem.

"Oh really? Do we? I hadn't noticed." Clint shot back, he was still miffed about Fury's comment earlier.

"Yes, and I need you up on deck defending the entrances. It appears the cockroach-aliens have boarded the ship. They are currently swarming on deck, that's why the floor was tilted for a while. Can you do this? I'll make sure Tony stays here." He stared at them with a ferocity in his eyes that no one could challenge. The team had nothing to do but agree with him, and, with nervous glances at the unmoving Tony, they split up and headed for the exits.

The room quieted down after a few more minutes of rushing agents. Fury remained at his post, watching the fight through the security feeds on his many screens. Tony remained motionless, the only notification that he was still alive was the slow, unsteady rise and fall of his chest. A loud alarm began to sound when one of the six entrances to the helicarrier - the one not defended by an Avenger - was overtaken and cockroach men swarmed in. Luckily, the breach was very far away from the bridge. Unluckily, that meant Fury had to take everyone from the bridge to go recapture the exit. Which left Tony alone and helpless, although Fury left him a loaded pistol, he doubted the billionaire would be able to lift it and fire.

It was quiet, Tony found that he liked it when it was quiet. He could think much clearer when there wasn't so much noise around. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking and flinching when a bright red flashing light hit his face. An alarm was going off, but he couldn't really hear it. He blinked again and opened his eyes all the way, he was on the bridge of the helicarrier. But Fury wasn't where he was supposed to be, in fact, Fury wasn't anywhere. Tony tilted his head to the side, surveying the empty bridge. His thoughts were like slugs, but eventually the information registered. He was alone on the helicarrier, which meant his friends had gone to fight off some monster without him, which meant they probably needed his help. He lurched and tried to sit up, grabbing the edge of the table to help him, his hand hit something metal and cold. He looked over and slowly recognized the dark shape of a pistol. He could use that. He grabbed the pistol and heaved himself to his feet.

Tony looked at the floor, it was dusty, his forehead could feel the cold, smooth, surface beneath it. Where am I? His hand was holding something, he brought it up to his face to see it. It was a pistol. Oh. He sat up slowly and nearly hit the floor again, but, by holding onto the edge of the table and the chair, he managed to remain upright. A rush of memories flooded him and he tried to stand again, slowly hauling his body onto the edge of the table, and then pushing off to stand up. Ouch. A sharp pain flared in his foot, he looked down and saw the large plaster cast surrounding his left foot and ankle. I can still walk. He took one slow step, clenching the side of the table like a crutch. He was headed for the storage area that held his Iron Man suit, if he could get it on then maybe he could help his friends. Wherever they were.

Tony was on the floor again, but this time he had slumped down on purpose. His ankle felt like it was going to burst, and he had decided that crawling would be faster. He was halfway to his suit when he passed the lab. He decided to go in and grab one of his bluetooth earpieces so he could join in on the airwaves that his team were sharing. Also so he could talk to JARVIS. His body was on the verge of quitting as he grabbed the edge of the counter in the lab, dropping the gun with a clatter. He grabbed the earpiece and fell to the floor, hitting his head and seeing stars. His hands fumbled with the small device, but he finally got it in his ear and was immediately greeted with the voices of his friends.

"Hey guys, miss me? What did I tell you about fighting evil aliens without me?" He tried at humor, but his voice was so hoarse that the joke didn't come across quite as well as it could have.

"Tony! What are you doing, how did you get your radio?" Steve replied first, he was out of breath.

"I made it to the lab." Tony didn't bother to joke anymore, he wad getting very tired, very quickly. "Who are you fighting?"

"It's these cockroach guys with wings, they stormed the deck when we were low over there base, they can jump freaky high." Clint answered, also out of breath, and, Tony guessed, out of arrows.

"Tony, we can handle this, you stay in the lab and wait." Natasha spoke in a commanding voice, and Tony was too tired to reply, or to disobey.

"Tony?" Steve called when Tony didn't give a smart come back to Natasha. "Tony, are you there?"

Tony had fallen asleep, slumped on the ground in the lab, the gun laying a few feet away. His arc reactor gave a little fizzle as a drip of sweat fell off Tony's chin.

The Avengers (minus Tony) were gathered on the deck of the helicarrier, accompanied by Fury and about twenty SHIELD agents. They were all that remained. The hoards of cockroach men were still infesting the deck, luckily, it appeared that their wings didn't actually work, but they could still jump very high. Clint was out of arrows and had to fight with his bow and a knife that Natasha had given him. Natasha was in a fury, slicing and hacking, and kicking like crazy, she didn't eve seem tired. Steve was still in the fight, but he was slowly wearing down. Thor had an apparently infinite well of strength, but if one looked closely, they might notice that his swings were closer to his body and that his stance was a little shallow. Bruce had hulked out a while ago and could be seen at the opposite end of the deck destroying wave after wave of the bugs. Fury and the SHIELD agents were holding their ground, but they were mostly fighting the bugs that found their way past the Avengers.

That was the moment that Tony got on the radio. A burst of strength went through the Avengers when they heard his voice, and his weak attempt at a joke. Then, panic, when he stopped responding, the team began to worry that he had gotten hurt. They began fighting faster and with more killing strikes, valiantly trying to defeat the hoard and go to save Tony. That was also when the power went out. Although they could still see since it was late afternoon, the engines were not turning. Fury had set the auto pilot to rise to a steady thirty-thousand feet so that no more cockroaches could jump on. Now they were plummeting down. The ground seemed to fall out from under them, fighting became harder and harder. Fury ordered a retreat. They needed to fix the motors or nobody would make it out alive.

Steve signaled to everyone to follow him, the Hulk ignored him and continued smashing, but they didn't worry too much since he would survive any fall. The Avengers (minus Tony and Bruce) all ran to the lab first, intent on securing Tony's health before their own. They found Tony flat on his back in the middle of the lab. A gun was by his feet. But he was breathing and everyone released a breath they didn't know they had been holding. Clint was ordered to stay with Tony while Steve and Natasha followed Fury to the bridge where they were attempting to restart the engines.

Tony woke up on floor. He wondered if this was going to become a habit of his. His head was pounding and his chest hurt like it was being touched by the sun. He turned his head to get his bearings. He was in the lab of the helicarrier, he could hear shouting and loud footsteps passing from the direction of the door.

"Uughhh, anybody home?" Tony said in a gruff voice as he pressed his elbows to the floor and propped himself up.

"Yeah, just got back from work, I'm surprised your awake, you fell asleep in mid-conversation." Clint stood by the door, watching the SHIELD agents rush past. He had a faint smile on his face when he saw Tony awake.

"Sorry, I had a power nap scheduled that I forgot about, what happened while I was out?" Tony rubbed his head and moved to get up, but doubled over on his knees when his chest nearly split apart with pain. He grunted and curled in on himself, biting his lip until it bled.

"Tony, calm down man, deep breaths. You've only been out for half an hour, the power's down on the engines and most of the helicarrier, we're luck the lab runs on its own generator." Clint moved away from the door and crouched next to Tony, his hand hovered over the geniuses shoulder, not quite making contact, but ready if Tony needed it.

Tony sat back, the pain subsiding to a dull fire in his chest, he rubbed the inflamed skin around the arc. He looked haggard. His hair was a mess of short tangles, he had dark circles under his eyes and he was very pale. His entire left leg was a bright red and Clint worried that he had somehow managed to hurt his ankle more. He could tell the scientist was using all his will power just to stay awake at that moment. He stood again, holding his bow in his hand. The last of the SHIELD agents ran past and disappeared around a corner. Clint glanced down at Tony, watching as the man struggled to climb to his feet, he bent down and tried to help.

Tony, unexpectedly, accepted Clint's hand and pulled himself into a standing position. Clint noticed that Tony was leaning heavily on one of the tables, and keeping as much weight as possible off of his injured ankle. Tony gave Clint a glare when he saw the archer staring at him, he didn't like feeling so weak and helpless. Tony turned to one of the computers and flicked on the screen, maybe he could help them with the power outage.

"JARVIS? You still online?" Tony's voice was better than it was before, but there was still a hitch in his speech that signaled he was having trouble breathing.

"For you sir, always." The cool british voice almost echoed in the lab.

"Good, I want full electricity scans done for the helicarrier, I want to know what's causing the power outag-" He broke off at the end to let out a convulsive cough. Clint flinched when he heard the man hacking up a storm behind him.

"Of course sir. Might I also suggest a full body scan for yourself?" JARVIS had noticed the coughing too.

"No, I'm good." Tony forced himself to stop coughing, and focused on the screen in front of him. Displayed on it was a clear model of the helicarrier with red and blue lines running through it, symbolizing power lines and main generators. One large area at the back of the ship was flashing red, that was where the aliens had cut the power.

"I'll go fix it, keep on the comms and tell me what to do." Clint notified Tony, and before the scientist could answer, the archer was out the door and racing down the hall. He had a new set of arrows he had picked up in the lab and was eager to use them, besides, Tony seemed to be more awake and capable for the moment.

Tony pressed a button at the bottom of the large computer screen, and lifted the whole thing out of the counter. He slid down to the floor again, finally unable to stand. His last burst of energy was spent and he felt a gnawing emptiness in his stomach. He wished he had some of those blueberries he usually stashed around. The tablet still showed the image of the helicarrier, but Tony was done looking at that, he swiped the screen and pulled up the security camera feed from around the ship. He flinched when he saw the cockroach bees swarming the deck, horrible memories filling his head and blotting his vision. He shook his head violently, trying to rid his mind of the memories. He flicked the screen to where he caught a flash of red white and blue. Steve was guarding the right entrance to the bridge, fighting off wave after wave of the beasts, while Fury and more SHIELD agents scrambled behind him, trying to get the power on.

"Tony, I'm there, what do I do." Clint's voice buzzed in Tony's ear.

"It's easy, see all the red levers?" Tony replied, shaking his head again as his vision blurred over for a moment.

"Yeah, bunches."

"You just have to-" Tony couldn't finish his sentence. He couldn't see anymore, his vision was greying over. He blinked, furious. Clint's voice came back over the comm, but Tony couldn't tell what he was saying. He shook his head, but that only made him dizzy, and he felt gravity shift as he slid to his side. In the last moments, his vision cleared enough for him to see large brown shapes skittering into the lab. Then there was nothing.

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**Thanks for reading this most recent of entries! If you review, then I will love you! Also, tell me if you spotted the reference...**


	6. The part where Tony is a supersoldier

**Hello again my faithful readers! I hope this chapter isn't too short for you. I spent a while on it, and it took me a full day to decide the ending for this, so be assured it was well thought out. I am sure you'll enjoy the chapter, and there is plenty of Tony whump!**

**Don't own the Avengers :( But Read on!**

Clint had lost contact with Tony before he could tell him what to do with the levers he was staring at. The archer was in a low ceilinged room full of large generators. Each generator was covered in buttons and switches, and of course one big red lever. Clint shrugged his shoulders and thought about all the spy movies he'd seen, where the spy only had to pull all the levers to return power to a building. Clint assumed that was what Tony had been about to tell him, so he went for it, hearing skittering footsteps behind him. He began to hurry when the footsteps became louder and closer. He was five levers down, with only five more to go, when he was attacked from behind by more of the monsters. He whipped around and began to dispatch them with his bow, while at the same time, trying to reach the last few levers.

Steve was, quite literally, up to his neck in ugly brown cockroach bees. Behind him, Natasha struggled to remain standing. Thor was across the bridge with Fury, defending the other entrance from the foul beasts. The hulk was still on the deck as far as they knew, although they had felt the ground tremble earlier which could have been him jumping off. Now, the few agents that were not helping Fury fight, were dashing from monitor to monitor working to fix the engines. They had jump-started two engines with the help of Clint pulling the levers, but now they needed the rest of the levers for there to be any hope of not crashing. At their rate, it would need to be in the next two minutes or they would be beyond saving.

"Clint, we need you man. Two minutes to pull the levers, hurry!" Steve growled, punching a monster in the…face?

"I know! It's just these guys keep coming, there must be a million of them!" Clint's reply was broken up as he was spinning and lashing out with his bow in a flurry of movement, always heading towards the next lever, only three to go.

"Well hurry faster agent! You're going to die if you don't do this." Fury had tapped into their comm system. Steve was about to shoot the director an annoyed look, when the enemy suddenly crept back, disappearing behind a corner. The fighters went silent for a moment, breathing deeply with the temporary reprieve, before they heard grunted breathing over their mics as Clint pulled the last three levers.

"Got em, tell them to press the button or whatever, start up that engine." Clint began to walk out of the generator room, he felt the hum of the engines returning to his feet as gravity re-asserted itself on them. He hadn't realized how light falling inside a metal can could make you feel.

Cheers went up from the remaining agents. Steve ran to help Natasha up, and they regrouped on the bridge with Fury. But they hadn't even made it to the center of the room when Fury's eyes grew wide and they all spun around to see what he was seeing.

The cockroaches had amassed and were creating a huge tidal wave of ugly brown bodies that slammed into the room and rushed over the Avengers. They fought as hard as they could, but the wave had knocked them mostly off balance, and they were quickly tired out. Steve gave up and held his hands over his face, shielding himself from the onslaught, he wrapped his hand around Natasha and held her close. Their backs and legs were pummeled with the thousands of feet passing over them. Thor let out a bellow, but even he was cut off with the shear volume of the attack. The Avengers each felt grimy legs slithering over their bodies, before violently wrenching them from the floor and carrying them off of the ship. They left Fury behind, breaking the glass of the helicarrier and bursting out of the ship. The stream of monsters plummeted straight to the ground, only their shear mass preventing the majority from dying upon impact.

When the dust cleared, there was silence on the bridge. Fury stood up slowly and dusted himself off before looking around. His agents were a scattered mess, most of them nursing wounds. He himself was sporting a nasty gash on his right arm. He watched his agents for a moment more, then did a double check. There was something - no, some team - that was missing. Then it hit him, like a smack in the face from one of Tony's robots. All of the Avengers, all of his response team, were gone.

Tony woke up on his back. His hands, he soon realized, where spread and tied down on either side of him. His legs were also tied down, one unfortunately still wearing a dirty cast. Tony's chest still hurt, but it appeared someone had applied a thick brown…something…to the skin around his arc reactor that was lessening the pain; it also masked the unusually comforting glow.

"Hey." Tony whispered, hearing his voice was like a shockwave in the silence of the room he was in. He twisted his neck around to get a better view of his surroundings. He was in another cave room, the walls slowly sloped inward as they rose, and they appeared to be made of roughly hewn brown stone. The floor was somewhat level, and also made of the same material as the walls. The contraption that Tony was strapped on to was made of cool metal, like a lab table. He was turned facing the wall, and angled upright so he couldn't see the rest of the room, although when he craned his neck to either side he could barely make out the edges of two other tables on either side of him.

"Tony?" That was Steve, unmistakably.

"Hey." Tony said again, it was barely more that a whisper though.

"Tony! I thought they had killed you." Steve's voice was hoarse, but Tony could tell it was coming from his left. "Clint left you in the lab alone."

"I can hear you. And Tony, sorry about that, but what's up with leaving me hanging?" Clint's voice came from another part of the room. He sounded equally weary.

"I knew you could handle it." Tony replied. "After all, what else are you good for?"

"Hey! What's with yo-"

"Shut up guys, we need to focus on the present here." Natasha's voice silenced Clint mid-sentence.

"I agree, how have we arrived into such a situation as this?" Thor's voice boomed, he never sounded tired.

"They must have taken us for a reason. Otherwise we would be killed. Can you break out of the straps?" Tony forced his voice to sound stronger despite the overwhelming tiredness that threatened to pull him under. He shifted as much as he could in the restricting ropes. That was when he noticed the IV drip that was pushed directly into his neck, he couldn't see it, but the tug on his skin alerted him of it's presence. He breathed deeply and tried to reassure himself it was just a normal IV, that nothing was getting pumped into his bloodstream other than hydrating water.

"Yeah, I think…" Steve's voice strained as he pulled against the restraints. There was a loud snap and some shuffling, and then Steve was in front of Tony. "You look horrible. Stay still while I unstrap you." Steve untied each of Tony's hands and then his ankles and then grabbed his shoulders as the man slumped forward. They heard another set of snaps as Thor freed himself.

"I'm alright, it's just, my ankle." Tony said through deep breaths. Once he had calmed down, he reached up to his neck and ripped out the IV. Then he turned, with the help of Steve, and looked out into the rest of the room.

There were five other identical tables placed in a semicircle in the room. They were all facing outwards and elevated like Tony's. He saw the one on his right that Steve had just broken out of, and then he moved to the left. They found Natasha on the next slab, then Clint, who was being helped out by Thor. Bruce was nowhere, and they all hoped he had survived and would come looking for them. They unbound Natasha and had a little Avengers pow-wow in the center of all the tables, nobody was willing, or able, to leave quite yet. Tony least of all, he was the only one who had had an IV in his neck, and after following the drip line they had found that it just led into the ground, the substance in Tony's blood would remain a mystery for the moment.

They sat in silence for a moment, everyone attempting to recharge. Thor had to be forcefully calmed down when he realized he did not have Mjolnir with him. Now he was sitting very still, deep in thought. Natasha was leaning on Clint's shoulder and he was gently rubbing her back. Steve sat next to Tony, watching the scientist intently for any signs of illness. Tony was about to fall asleep, he could barely feel his limbs when they moved, and it felt like his eyelids had ten-thousand pound weights dragging them down. He forced himself to stay conscious though, the cockroaches could return any moment and he needed to be ready.

"How are we going to escape?" Thor asked finally, bringing everyone back to the present. "If only I could find my beloved Mjolnir, then we would be free in no time."

"We'll find Mjolnir, Thor, right now I think we need to just get out of this room. I can carry Tony since he can't walk with his broken ankle." Steve motioned to Tony's leg. Tony mentally cursed himself for being a liability, he hated it.

"I'm okay with that, let's go now, before whoever trapped us gets back." Natasha stood, followed by Steve, Clint, and Thor. Steve bent down and grabbed Tony. They walked out of the room, everyone keeping a wary eye open for any of the cockroach monsters. The hallway in front of them was made of metal, very much in contrast to the dank cave they had left behind. The floor shone a dark black color and the walls and ceiling were bright white. There were fluorescent lights in strips that hung a few inches from the ceiling at regular intervals. The hall seemed to stretch on forever in both directions. They paused and listened for a moment, but soon realized they could only hear their own breathing. Steve made the executive decision and chose to lead them to the right, they quickly set off.

"Y'know, this is very undignified." Tony spoke up, his voice was slurred a bit, but he seemed mostly awake. "We should go out there, guns blazing, and take 'em all down." He held his hands up and pretended he was shooting imaginary bullets. Steve gave him a concerned glare.

"The only problem is, we don't have any guns at the moment, Tony." Clint pointed out the flaw in Tony's plan. Tony sighed a little in defeat, but remained quiet, he had to admit Natasha was a little less voluminous without her hidden arsenal. When Steve glanced down at him a moment later, he realized the scientist was out like a light.

They passed a bunch of doors on their path down the hallway, but after checking the first twenty, they gave up because every door was locked. There weren't even any windows on the doors for them to peek into. When they finally reached the end of the hallway they paused for breath. Then they peered around the corner, the hallway again branched in two directions, but to the left they could see the end, whereas to the right, the hallway appeared infinite. They chose left, but moved more cautiously.

Tony's body jerked as the scientist awoke from what appeared to have been a nightmare, Steve held on to his frame as it shook for a moment while Tony got his bearings.

"It's alright Tony, you were only out for fifteen minutes, although it's hard to tell without a watch." Clint whispered, they were nearing the end of the hallway, and it appeared to open up into a much larger space.

"Fine, I'm fine, I can stand." Tony struggled in Steve's vice-like grip, until Steve conceded and propped Tony against the wall, keeping an arm out in case he fell again. Tony seemed steady, he even put a little weight on his ankle.

They took a cautious look around the area at the end of the hall. It was full of airplanes and crates filled with who-knew-what. They could see a few cockroach bees that were keeping guard, but none of them were anywhere near the doorway they stood in. The second thing they all took in, was the sunlight, although faint in the morning, it still shone, highlighting the edges of the cavern with a glorious golden glow. Tony hobbled over and stood with them, relishing the sunlight on his skin. Steve watched Tony closely, the scientist seemed to be recovering very fast. Had it been the drug in his IV? Steve was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the man fall over until he was on the ground.

The ground was dusty. People need to sweep more, Tony thought. It would be a brighter world if people would sweep more. He heard voices shouting his name, and then the world spun and he was staring at the ceiling. Worried faces clouded at the edge of his vision. They were talking to him, but suddenly Tony realized he couldn't respond to their calls. He worked his jaw, but nothing came out, he tried to blink and sit up, but his body remained still. It was as if someone had flipped a switch and removed his control. Suddenly the faces were gone, he heard the sound of fighting, and realized that his friends were fighting for him. They were drawing the bad guys away so he had a chance, now if only he could move. He needed to help. He needed to help them. He needed to…

Steve was watching when Tony fell over. Steve was calling Tony's name when he didn't respond. Steve was defending his helpless friend when the most astounding thing he ever saw happened. Tony got up. His face was grim and his jaw was set. He stood, his feet planted on the ground, not even caring about his broken ankle. His eyes were unfocused, like he wasn't seeing the same thing Steve was. Steve saw the scientist's veins pulse and bulge, then he saw nothing but a blur. Tony had moved so fast that the three cockroach men were dead before Steve had time to blink and turn his head. Then Tony was on his knees, and Steve had to help.

"Tony! What was that? Are you okay?" Steve rushed over to Tony, who was now holding his head in his hands.

"Woah. woah." Tony was looking very shocked and a little bit scared. Steve wondered what had just happened.

"Tony, we're going to get out of here, just hold on a moment while I find a five seater plane." Natasha stood upright and turned towards the planes. She gasped when she was met by an unfamiliar face. It was a man, he was much taller than even Steve, he wore brown robes and his head was shaved completely. He had about a hundred different piercings covering his face and ears.

"Hello, you must be the famous Black Widow." He smiled, he had no accent, and his teeth were pearly white. Natasha whipped around with a spinning kick, but never made contact, her foot spun right through the man. He was a hologram, and a good one. Steve stood up from his position next to Tony; Clint moved up next to Natasha; Thor hung back, wary of the modern technology. The hologram shimmered and then fixated back in place. The Avengers were temporarily frozen, all of them at a loss for words.

"Who are you? And if you don't mind me asking, what did you put in my blood?" Tony was leaning heavily on Steve's shoulder, but his voice was like fire.

"I believe we used a solution similar to one used on Mr. Rogers here. Oh yes, and we also put little controlling nanobots in it." The man tapped his chin when he thought, playing at being serious, but Tony could see the grin beneath his eyes. "It works too, you see those guards that you just killed, well, I gave that order."

"Why you! How could you!?" Steve was livid, he nearly threw himself on the hologram in rage. His own body had been created by a serum that had been through many attempts at recreation, Bruce Banner was a result of one such attempt. He didn't like remembering the pain that he had gone through to get his muscles. He would never wish it on another person. It seemed that this man had perfected it and put it into Tony. Why Tony though?

"Why me?" Tony stood again, letting go of Steve's shoulder and voicing the man's thoughts. "Why not Clint, or Steve, or anyone else?"

"Simply because I wanted your brains. You have the intellect of a genius that is almost parallel with my own. I now have complete control over you, you will do as I wish." The man then snapped his holographic fingers and was gone with a fizzle of lights. The team stood dumbfounded.

"Rrrrrgh!" Steve turned and punched the wall, venting his fury. Natasha was keeping a wary eye on Tony, as if he might start attacking them any minute. Thor appeared to be concentrating with all his might, his arms were extended in front of him and he was facing the wall. The team watched him and then they heard a low rumbling. The rumbling got louder and turned into a series of fast booms and the ground vibrated a little bit. Then the wall seemed to explode, when the dust settled, Thor was holding Mjolnir once more. And Tony was gone.

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**Was that not exciting? Were you not sitting on the edge of your seat? Have you leaped up out of said seat in anger because the chapter ended? Fear not! You can fix this problem easily! All you have to do is REVIEW! With just one simple click, and the use of a keyboard, you can ensure the swift update of this story! So don't wait! What are you doing still reading this?! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	7. The part where they find a map

**I am giving all of you guys another chapter! This one is semi-long, I spent a while on it, and now I'm playing with the idea of multiple subplots coming together to create one smashing end! See if you can tell me all of the subplots and loose ends! **

**Disclaimer: do I really need to write it again? No, i don't own the Avengers...**

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Clint turned and caught a glimpse of Tony as he hobbled down the hall they had come from and disappeared around a corner. They didn't miss a beat as they began running after him. He was still limping a little, but as they chased after him they watched him reach down and tug off his cast. He then began sprinting down the hallway.

"Tony!"

"Stop running!"

"Hey! What's wrong?"

Their chorus of voices didn't even give Tony pause. He continued to sprint down the hall. Steve glanced at his team with a question in his eyes. They looked back and nodded, they knew what he was going to do. Steve looked back up at Tony, then leaned his body forward and kicked into gear. He shot forward, running faster than he ever had. He caught up with Tony very quickly, but the scientist paid him no heed.

"Tony, listen to me." Steve was panting now, he was more worn out than before, especially after sprinting so fast. Tony didn't look at him, but instead turned a sharp corner. Steve skidded before pulling a sharp U-turn to follow. "Hey! Tony?" Steve waved his hand in front of his friends face, no reaction. Steve cursed and slowed to a stop, letting Tony keep going, he waited for the team to catch up. Tony was under the control of the man they had seen on the hologram. Steve wondered what his name was.

Tony's POV

I couldn't move my own limbs. They just acted according to whoever was controlling them's needs. I could still see though, and I could hear too. He couldn't take my senses away.

I had lost control when the wall had exploded. Apparently Thor got Mjolnir back, but I couldn't turn my head to see. I felt myself running, that was weird, because I could have sworn I broke my ankle earlier. Then I saw myself reaching down and pulling off the cast. My ankle was completely healed. Some serum! I heard the team calling my name from behind me, they were getting farther behind as my super-strength running kicked in. I had to admit it felt kinda good to be running so fast, but then I remembered it wasn't really me. I tried with all my strength to wrestle back control, at least attempting to yell something, but my jaw clamped shut and I felt a sharp stab of pain in my chest. They had given me strength and healing abilities, but they hadn't thought about the arc's recent malfunctions.

I was running for a minute when Steve was suddenly beside me, calling my name, then he waved his hand in front of my eyes. I heard him curse when I didn't turn to look at him, then I heard him stop. Steve didn't usually give up. No, Steve never gave up. I guess he was more worried by this than I had expected.

My body kept moving, running, turning corners, and I got lost. The halls all looked the same to me, I had no idea where I was being taken. I could feel my body wearing out slowly, I was breathing harder and harder, and the bursts of pain were coming more frequently. I really wanted to rub the space around my arc, but my hands were stuck pumping air by my sides. I could have breathed a large sigh of relief when I felt myself slowing down and finally stopping. I was in front of a door, completely nondescript and identical to every other door on that hallway. I felt my hand reach out and grasp the nob, it turned easily and I entered the room.

The second I stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind me, I was given back control of my body. I slumped to the floor in surprise, before mastering myself and standing up again. The room was large with a high ceiling and black panels making up the walls. There was one piece of furniture, a desk, with a high-backed chair facing away from me. Very cliché, exactly like an evil villains lair should look. When I looked past the desk, I even saw a pool of water with - would ya look at that - sharks in it. The chair turned to face me and I focused on the occupant.

It was the same guy who had appeared as a hologram before. He was holding a cup of what looked like tea in his hand.

"Hello Mr. Stark, or should I call you Tony?" His voice was not deep, nor was it high though. He set his ceramic cup on the desk in front of him with a clink.

"It's to unknown strangers." My voice came out like a low growl. I already hated this man for kidnapping me, but to put an unknown substance in my body, that was crossing the line.

"I see, oh, and don't even think about trying to attack me, if I snap my fingers you are under my control. And you can call me Vice." Vice stood up and walked up to me, he stood right in front of me and stared into my eyes. I debated moving, but decided it would be better to keep control of my body for as long as possible.

"Isn't this the part where you tell me your backstory and then reveal your plot to rule the world?" I put as much spite in my voice as possible. He didn't even flinch, he only moved closer and whispered in my ear.

"No, you will know nothing of my plan." Then he moved back to his desk and snapped his fingers. The world went dark.

Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Thor were walking slowly through hallway after hallway. They had been tracking Tony by the little specks of dirt his feet had left on the ground, but the trail had faded beyond reach a few hallways back. They were just wandering when they thought they heard footsteps coming from around a nearby corner. They all paused and leaned against the wall, slowly creeping forward to see who was coming. As the footsteps neared, they could make out the sound of wheels too. Clint peeked around the wall for a split second to see who was coming. He was surprised when he saw a single man dressed in a suit, pushing a gurney holding an unconscious Tony Stark on it.

Clint quickly whispered his sighting to the others, and they prepared to assault the man when he passed by. They waited patiently until they first saw the gurney pass, and then the man. Natasha jumped out first, leaping onto the mans back and twisting her legs around him, but he threw he off with little effort and she flew into the wall. Thor bellowed and jumped out next, swinging Mjolnir above his head he aimed an attack directly at the man's chest, it slammed him back with the force of the blow and he was knocked into the opposite wall. Steve and Clint ran to the gurney holding Tony and checked his pulse, it was still there. They glanced up to see Natasha recovered and once more flying at the mysterious villain, Thor was also advancing. Steve nodded at Clint, who nodded in return, and they both began to wheel Tony away from the fight. He was breathing slowly, as if in sleep. Steve checked a doorknob on a whim and found it unlocked. After peering inside, they wheeled in Tony and closed the door behind them.

The room they had entered was large and square. It had white walls and multiple fluorescent lights that gave the room a sanitary feeling. There were a few white tables that might have once been desks, but had long since been deserted. Steve pushed Tony into the middle of the room and leaned on the side of one of the desks. Clint peeked out the door again, checking to make sure the fighters were not in need of help. He saw Natasha and Thor still fighting the lithe, suited target. The man looked like a secret agent, with his black tie suit and dark sunglasses. He didn't appear to be using any weapons either, Clint considered the idea that he was also a super soldier. Then he realized if that was true, and if Natasha and Thor combined were not hurting him, then was Tony also as strong? Clint closed the door again and glanced warily back at the sleeping form of his friend.

Steve was worried about Tony. Mostly about the fact that Tony was unconscious and wouldn't even wake up when Steve shouted in his ear. But also about the fact that at any moment Tony could wake up under the control of the weird monk guy and start fighting them. Steve was particularly worried about the second fact. He couldn't bear the thought of hurting Tony. He decided to go and help with the agent that Natasha and Thor were fighting. He left Tony in Clint's care, trusting him with this simple task once more only out of necessity.

With Steve helping, they quickly dispatched the agent who was already wearied after the long fight with the two super heroes. Steve delivered the final punch to the throat and the guy slumped onto the floor, gagging and falling unconscious as his wounds crept up on him. Steve's vision flashed for a moment and he saw Tony lying before him, wounded and dying, but the vision passed and the man before him was once more just a dying agent of the enemy. Natasha was already rooting in his pockets to find any clue as to what their next move was. She searched all his pockets then stood up with her findings. There was a few quarters, a remote control, and a folded piece of paper. Steve took the paper and unfolded it. On it was an intricate set of gridded lines and symbols. Steve was confused for a second and glared at the paper, but then it became clear, it was a map.

After checking once more to make sure the agent was down for the count, the team ran back to the room to get Clint and Tony. The door was ajar when they ran up to it, and after one look inside, they realized Tony and Clint were gone. Until they heard a whimper, and realized the gurney was still there.

Steve rushed in, closely followed by Natasha and Thor. The sound had come from behind one of the desks, they soon found which one. It was near the back, they looked behind it and found Clint cowering, with his knees pulled up to his chest and his face buried within them.

"Clint, what's wrong?" Steve was immediately cautionary, anything that could make the archer scared was something to be worried about. He also made a mental not to never leave Tony alone with Clint again.

"Let me handle this, you go stand by the door. See if you can tell which way Tony went." Natasha knelt down next to Clint and Steve and Thor nodded and left. Natasha wrapped her arms around the man she would never admit to loving. He slowly relaxed and she pulled away again, his face coming up to meet her gaze. There were no tear streaks, instead he looked grim, and scared. "Tell me what's wrong Clint."

"Tony just- He just- he attacked me. I- I couldn't do anything, I just stood there, taking it, then he ran out of the room." Clint spoke slowly and softly, as if he was horrified by his own actions. Then he let his knees fall down from his chest and revealed a deep red blood stain. Natasha had been so focused on his words that she had failed to notice the small puddle of blood around her archer.

"Clint, your hurt. Why didn't you tell me this first? We can go after Tony later, you need help though." Her tone was terse, but Clint detected a note of true worry within. He pulled up his tight armored shirt and revealed the gash on his side, it was dark red and still oozed blood in places. Natasha wondered how an unarmed man could have done this to someone he once considered a friend.

"What's going on, Clint what happened?!" Steve and Thor had come back over, the soldier being the first to comment on Clint's sorry state.

"It's okay guys, Tony attacked me and I just couldn't find it in me to hurt him, he must be going through the worst of it all. Just before he attacked me we were talking, and he told me that while he is being controlled, he can still see and hear what's going on." Clint gritted his teeth when Natasha pressed a strip of her leggings against his side. "He also told me that the monk guy's name is Vice, and that he wouldn't tell Tony any of his plans."

"I see, then we should go after him now! Stopping him will surely stop the control over the Iron Man, right?" Thor spoke up, he hadn't spoken in a while.

"You're right, if we stop Vice then Tony will no longer be under his control." Steve agreed, he looked down at Natasha and Clint and they nodded in approval. All they had to do now, was find the guy. Then Steve remembered the map. He pulled it out and gave it a close inspection, attempting to locate where they were. He remembered being given a class on reading maps a long time ago in elementary school, it didn't do him much good though, since he wasn't looking for north.

"Give me that, You help Clint get up, he'll need to stay with us." Natasha received a surprised look from Steve for taking over, before he handed her the map and helped Clint stand up. Natasha had already figured out where they were and where they needed to go by the time he stood back up with Clint leaning heavily on his shoulder. He felt Clint's hand grip his shoulder when they started moving and for a second he was transported to the airplane hangar, where Tony had been holding on with the same grip, and then he was back, entering the hall that would lead them to Vice. Steve grew a concerned face for the moment, contemplating the strange vision, but passed it off as just a memory. They began walking down the hall, Natasha was in the lead holding the map up. Steve couldn't imagine how she had figured out the map so quickly, but he knew it would have taken him hours, so he went along with it.

Tony was running again, head down, sprinting all out. It was apparently the only way they could make him run, he mentally scolded the scientists for not inserting a 'jog' setting, his legs were killing him. He was again lost, not knowing where he was in the maze of halls, although what he was noticing was that every once in a while he would pass by a section of wall that was just dirt. He thought maybe he was nearing the edge of the underground compound, but then he turned a corner and would have stopped and stared had he had control over himself.

The area had a high, vaulted, ceiling made of brown rock, it curved out in a large downward arch. There were many different bridges and holes in the walls, and all of them were covered in the disgusting cockroach bees. The bridge Tony was sprinting on, luckily, was empty for the time being, and he thanked whoever had summoned him for not making him run through a bunch of cockroaches. He internally shivered at the mere thought. He barely had time to observe the rest of the cavern before he was across the bridge and into another winding tunnel.

The darkness of the tunnel gave him time to think. Images of him fighting Clint blocked his vision for a moment as he was nearly overwhelmed with a strange emotion. When he had woken up on the gurney, Clint a rushed over with worried eyes, but they became relieved when he realized Tony was still Tony. They had talked for a bit, but then Tony felt his body going numb and he tried to warn Clint about it but it was too late. He could only watch as realization rushed into Clint's eyes when Tony lashed out at him. Clint had done nothing to fight back, and Tony had been screaming at the archer to kill him, but none of his words came out. Tony had sliced the man's side open with one swing of his hand, and then his body had been forced to run away, leaving the man bleeding on the floor. Afraid of his own friend.

Tony snapped out of his revery when he was blinded by a sudden light. The darkness of the previous tunnel was forced out of his head by the fluorescent bulbs hanging above. He looked around and realized he was in the 'main lair' of Vice. Mostly because there were a million scientists running around, and one big desk in an office to the side. With Vice sitting at it on the phone. He watched as Vice stood up and placed the phone in the drawer of the desk. He turned and exited the office through a glass door, walking straight to the now immobile Tony. His eyes were playful and inwardly Tony grew alarmed, this man was a psychopath. Who mutated cockroaches and used them as an army?!

"Tony Stark, I will now test your willingness to be my servant. Did I tell you? The nanobots that control you now wear down in a few days, so now I must make you want to be in my service." He ended his sentence with a low laugh, shivers ran down Tony's spine. Then Vice snapped his fingers and Tony could move.

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	8. The Part where Tony gets Tortured

**I have returned from not posting a new chapter in a while and decided to give you this chapter as a reward for the favorites and follows, and a few reviews :) I hope you like this chapter and that it's not too short!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except the stuff that I do own. But that does not include the Avengers...**

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Tony surveyed his options. He was in complete control of his body at the moment. Vice was showing him around the room full of scientists and experiments. He could run, but then Vice would snap his fingers. He could attempt to incapacitate Vice's fingers by a sudden attack, he liked that option, but then a sharp stab of pain rippled from his chest and he realized fighting would do more damage to himself than his opponent. He reached up and rubbed the skin around his arc reactor, it didn't help at all. He was lucky that the pain wasn't as bad as it had been before this entire episode had happened.

"I know your chest is hurting you, so I'll give you the option of agreeing willingly to be my personal bodyguard." Vice turned back to Tony, snapping him out of his revery. "Or we could go about this the hard way."

Tony thought hard, he was too proud to give in to anything willingly. He could take a little torture, if only to stall until the nanobots wore out. His mental calculations put that to be in about eight hours. He could make it, or his team would save him. He glared into Vice's eyes and whispered, "Never."

Steve followed Natasha, Clint, and Thor around yet another turn. They had been walking the halls for only about twenty minutes, but Steve was already getting aggravated.

"How close are we?" He called up to Natasha.

"You sound like a little kid on a long road trip, calm down, we'll be there in a bit." Clint had a smirk on his face. Steve kept quiet, he needed to stay calm and focus on finding Tony. They rounded another corner and found themselves suddenly in a hallway that was made of stone. At the far end they saw that the hall went back to the normal white wall look.

"Why have the workers not completed this corridor?" Thor mused aloud. He was answered by shrugs, and Natasha led them on.

Tony let his answer sink in. Vice had actually thought Tony would agree with his offer. Then again, everyone always underestimated the scientist's ego. Vice waved his hand and two black-suited men came out from a corner. They grabbed Tony's arms and began following Vice to a back room.

"I had hoped we wouldn't have to do this. But it seems I underestimated your stubbornness." Vice didn't look at Tony when he spoke, instead he opened a door in the wall and led them through.

"Not used to doing things yourself I see. You really are a spoiled brat." Tony quipped, ignoring the pain in his chest, and the tight grip on his arms.

"You may joke now, but soon I think you will be wishing you took the easy way out." Vice made the agents drop Tony into a chair which they quickly strapped his arms and legs to. There was no chance of Tony escaping these bonds, they were designed to resists even a super soldiers strength. "I have given your teammates a map, one that they think will lead to me. But it will only lead them to an exit. I am through with them scampering around my compound."

Tony's last hope drained from his mind. He had been counting on his team to search for him, but now they were being deceived. Of course they would go straight to SHIELD, and they knew where he was, but getting him out would be a large problem. It wasn't impossible, but it would definitely take a long time, maybe too long. Tony clenched his jaw and forced himself to not think about the possible negative outcome of what was about to happen. He saw Vice sharpening a knife in the corner. The man turned towards him and held the knife up menacingly. Tony put on his poker face, he would not let this man see his pain, or his fear.

"We will start with a little, minor, persuasion. But only until your team reaches their base. Then the real fun starts." Vice walked around until he was in front of Tony. Tony wondered what he meant, until he saw the man lift up a curtain and reveal a video camera and laptop sitting on a stool, aimed at him. A pit of dread settled in his stomach. His mouth was dry, and his chest hurt.

"You wouldn't want my team to miss the beginning, now? Wouldn't it be better to wait until they can see?" Tony tried to stall. He needed more time to come up with an escape plan, but when he glanced to his left he saw the two incredibly strong agents blocking his path to the door.

"No way you can stall your way out of this Tony." Vice smirked, catching Tony's plan and throwing it in the trash.

"Well, at least tell me why your doing this!" Tony nearly begged. Nearly.

"Very well, I will grant you that one thing, if only to make your decision easier." Vice twirled the knife in his hand before turning and pulling up a wooden chair so he could sit facing Tony. "My intention is to, once you are under my control, have you build me the ultimate weapon. Using your repulser technology, and the arc reactor, I will then destroy SHIELD and - ah, so cliche - take over the world."

"Ha! No way will I ever do your bidding!" Tony attempted to spit on the man, but failed due to his dry mouth.

"You shall soon learn the stakes. You are also leverage." Vice stood up and advanced, holding the knife before him.

He placed the edge of the blade on Tony's arm, pressing harder and drawing a thin line of blood that trickled down Tony's arm and dripped onto the floor. It stung, but nothing Tony couldn't handle. Then Vice lifted the blade and frowned a little, maybe at Tony's lack of reaction. He moved away and went to the table that held various items of torture. He selected a serrated knife and stepped back over to Tony. The new knife bit into the skin on Tony's other arm and he stifled a grunt of pain. The jagged edges of the knife creating a horrible gash that leaked blood all over the ground. Tony was now worried about blood loss. It seemed Vice had thought the same thing, and moved behind Tony, working with something metallic, he jabbed a needle into Tony's arm and Tony saw that it was another IV, this one giving him a steady flow of blood. No chance of going unconscious from blood loss then.

After Vice had finished setting up Tony's IV, a beep came from the computer and the screen lit up.

"It seems your friends have made it to SHIELD, now we get to have our little video chat!" Vice's face lit up with the glow from the screen and his smile seemed hideous and insane.

Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Thor all ran out into the bright afternoon sunlight. The path that Natasha had taken them had turned out to be a fake, one that instead lead them to an exit. The large sand dunes rolled out before them, and in the distance they could see the black shape of the helicarrier.

"I can't believe we fell for that." Steve sighed, they began to walk towards the helicarrier, hoping it would see them and send out a twin jet to get them.

"I had a feeling that finding that map was a little too good to be true." Natasha stated, she had thrown the map down in fury when they had first walked into the open.

"No use going back in now though, better get to the helicarrier and see if Fury has a better idea." No sooner had Clint spoke, when they all saw a little black dot detach itself from the helicarrier and head their way. At that same moment, Clint also saw something lying across two dunes. He started running towards it without any explanation. The rest of the crew ran after him.

The jet was getting closer when Clint finally got close to what he had seen. The others followed quickly and let out gasps of surprise when they realized what they were looking at. It was the unconscious form of Bruce Banner, recently de-hulked and quite naked.

"Banner, can you hear me?" Steve knelt down by the mans head, shaking his shoulders a bit to get him to wake up.

"Huuuhhh, yeah, yeah, I'm awake, what'd I miss?" He shifted and slowly sat up, holding the bridge of his nose and realizing he had lost another pair of glasses. He also realized he was naked, but after a glance around that showed it was only his team with him, a little of his embarrassment faded.

"Good that we found you, there's a twin jet coming our way that'll take us to the helicarrier. We'll brief you and Fury on everything once we get there." Steve went into leader mode and helped Bruce stand, they all shielded their eyes as the jet landed and kicked up a bunch of sand. They boarded it and, after Bruce was given some pants, sat quietly on their return trip.

"Hey, where's Tony?" Bruce dropped the question. He had realized the man was missing when there wasn't any snarky comments on his nakedness. HIs question was answered with silence, nobody would meet his eyes. "Don't tell me he's still in there. Come one guys, look at me."

"Yes, we had to leave him, but we'll explain better when we get to base. Just be patient." Steve answered finally, his voice was quiet and he still didn't meet Bruce's eyes.

The team entered the conference room in the helicarrier and were greeted by a furious Fury. He glared at them with his one good eye, the computer screen behind him showed an aerial view of the desert.

"What in the world were you thinking?! Leaving Stark behind and saving your own butts gets us nowhere!" He unleashed his attack at everyone, but they could tell it was centered around Steve.

"Sir, we had no choice, we were following a map that was supposed to lead to Tony, but it was a trap and we are sorry sir." Steve sounded commanding, but Bruce could tell he felt horrible on the inside.

"Is this true?" Fury was a little bit calmer now. A mumble of agreement came from around the table. "Okay, then I'd like a full report from each of you within the next hour, then we'll figure out a plan for rescuing Stark."

No sooner had Fury spoken when the screen behind him flashed a bright warning red. Fury began typing on the keyboard, but the warning didn't go away. Instead, it fizzled into a blank black screen. They heard a shuffling coming out of the speakers before a cloth was removed from the screen and they were greeted with a gruesome sight. It was Tony Stark, cuffed to a chair and bleeding profusely. The team gasped and called out to Tony.

"Hey guys, miss me?" Tony's attempt at humor was punished with a sharp punch to his jaw from Vice. The laptop in front of him showed his friends looks of worry and dismay at his predicament. "Don't worry, I'm fine, super soldier remember?" Tony lied through his teeth, he felt horrible, even though he was now a super soldier, he still felt pain, and his healing properties were not very good.

"Tony, we're coming to get you, stay awake!" Steve tried to reassure his friend, but they both knew that the Avengers had no idea how to rescue Tony. Even if they did, they probably wouldn't make it in time.

"Hello my friends." Vice stepped in front of Tony and stuck his face close to the camera. "I see you are worried about your friend here, well, he won't die yet, I can promise you that." Vice paused to let them take in the news. "I intend to keep Mr. Stark under my care for a while longer, and the only way you can get him back, is by giving me complete access to SHIELD's weapons depot."

"Never." Fury stated. "We will come and get Stark and you can't stop us."

"Ha! If you even attempt to break down my defenses then you will be delivered Stark, dead, on a silver platter." Vice retaliated. Everyone watching had their minds racing to come up with an idea to rescue Tony. "Well, I'm itching for a little excitement, so why don't you just watch from now on, no talking please."

Vice moved away from the camera and turned back to Tony. He produced a whip and cracked it menacingly. He arched his hand back and flipped it forward so that the whip slashed itself across Tony's bare chest, and his arc reactor. The rope burned and cut his skin, but Tony refused to call out. He couldn't be seen like this in front of his friends, he didn't want them to pity him. But already images of Afghanistan were surfacing in his mind and he had to fight to stay in the present. Vice swung again, this time hitting Tony's legs with the whip. Tony's brain blanked out and he was once more in a dank cave, being tortured into making a missile. He felt another lash on his legs and then a moment of calm. But it was only calm to the onlooker, inside Tony was reeling in panic and nearly uncontrollable fear. He squeezed his eyes shut, but that only increased the vividness of the visions, so he opened them and stared at his friend's scared faces on the computer screen.

"We have to do something! I can't stand to watch him being humiliated like this!" Steve was furious, and gestured largely with his hands to express as much.

"You know we don't have the time to go in and rescue him, remember what the man said, if we try, then Stark is dead." Natasha had removed her emotions and set her face at a neutral state. Steve knew that she was running through hundreds of rescue plans at that moment in an attempt to find one that would work. He sighed and glanced back up at the screen. Vice was now having a guard move a large tank of water over to Tony's side. The entire team blanched when they saw it. They had seen the footage on Tony's file about what had happened in Afghanistan, they knew about Tony's fear of still water. They saw Tony's face go white and his eyes involuntarily widened in fear. He struggled more at his bonds, but he was weak now, and barely had the strength to hold in his screams.

"Tony, remember what we talked about, deep breaths!" Bruce yelled, he was referring to a few calming techniques that he had taught Tony for circumstances such as this. Of course, Tony hadn't taken the lessons seriously, doubting the possibility of this situation ever arising.

"Hey, I said no talking." Vice's sing song voice sounded tinny over the screens speakers. He grabbed the back of Tony's head and pulled his hair sharply so Tony was forced to look straight up. "I guess the deal's over, you can come and get your friend, I won't intentionally kill him if you manage to infiltrate this deep, but his mental state cannot be guaranteed." The words had no sooner left Vice's mouth than the conference room was empty save for an exasperated Fury.

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**And that concludes another wonderful look into the imaginary happenings of a certain Marvel Universe**

**Please review and hope for a quick update from me, your favorite author! But seriously, I need reviews, and if I get a bunch, then I'll post the new chapter in the morning. for realsies.**


	9. The Part where Tony is healed

**This is the last chapter of this story. If you want it to continue, or if you want me to write another story full of Tony whump, please review at the end!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tony Stark or his awesome friends :(**

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The Avengers had taken a twin jet off the helicarrier and headed straight for the caves. They had no idea where Tony was, but in their enraged state, it didn't really matter. He could have been at the center of the earth and they would have gone.

"Sir, is it okay to just let them fly in like that? They'll destroy the whole place." Agent Hill stepped up next to Fury who was standing calmly in his usual position on the bridge.

"That's the point, we need that place destroyed. And we need Stark." Fury's voice was calm, yet commanding, and Agent Hill stepped down, knowing that somewhere inside the directors head he was truly worried about his team.

"Yes sir, whatever you say sir."

The outer wall was obliterated in one fell swing of Mjolnir, along with a few inner walls too. The Avengers had nearly crash-landed the jet in their haste. They stood still for a moment as Bruce Hulked out, then followed the giant green monster on his path of destruction. They were soon met with hundreds of cockroach monsters, but in their fury the monsters were like ants, and they were the boot.

They were making fast progress, and figured that if they kept heading down they would eventually find Tony. The Hulk acted as a lead, and created a large path that they could easily follow. The flow of cockroaches slowed as they got deeper, the walls turning from pristine white, to brown stone. They were very close when they were stopped by a bloodcurdling scream that echoed through the caves. Their hearts skipped a beat, but before they could continue, they were confronted by three agents wearing black suits. The fight began.

Tony couldn't move, could barely breathe, his body hurt so badly. He was vaguely aware that he was lying on his side on the ground. People should sweep the floors more often. His hands were tied behind his back, but his legs seemed to be free. He shifted and heard a sickening squelch coming from the puddle of blood and water on the floor. He tried to open his mouth and take a deep breath, but his lungs felt like they were filled with water, and his throat burned. His vision was blurry, and the edges of his sight were tinged with blackness. He felt a sudden jarring pain in his side and heard laughter. He had thought it was over. Then he heard fighting in the distance, but it was soon cut off by the sound of ringing after a punch to the head.

"You still alive down there Tony?" The voice sliced through his head and he was full of rage at this man who had brought him so low. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a guttural groan, he shifted on his side and felt a hand push his shoulder so he was staring at the ceiling. "Good, your friends have come to get you. But they're a little…busy… at the moment, I hope you last long enough for them to rescue you."

Vice grabbed a swath of Tony's hair and pulled the man upright. Tony had to fight hard to keep the contents of his stomach from exiting his body. Vice twisted Tony's head so he was looking to the left, then plunged it down into a tub already filled with water and blood. Tony's lungs screamed and his heart hammered in his chest. It's beating was no longer regular, but frantic and quick. His head was pulled up, but not long enough for his slow muscles to draw breath, and then he was plunged back into the water. He frantically tried to struggle out of Vice's vice-like grip. The water was shallow, only about five inches deep, and Tony's forehead kept hitting the bottom. He was pulled up again and allowed an extra moment to breathe. He felt the grip on his hair loosen and acted fast, spinning around he ducked out of Vice's reach and turned to face the man. Vice looked surprised, but started advancing with a growing smile on his lips.

Tony looked from side to side, searching for something to use as a weapon, but it was hopeless with his hands tied behind his back. He remembered his lessons in physical combat and began circling Vice, waiting for the right moment to kick. Vice circled him too, but was too late to realize that Tony had circled them around so that he was now standing in front of the torture weapons table. Tony swiftly grabbed a knife with his fingers and sawed through the rope holding his hands, he had barely made it through when Vice was upon him. He wheeled around and deflected the villain's attack, the last shreds of rope falling from his wrists. Vice spun and swung his fist in Tony's face, Tony deflected, but his arms were weak and he wobbled to the side with the force of the blow. He was too slow to block the next punch, which hit him right in the gut. He bent over and wretched on the ground, his body heaving with the force of stomach acid and mush that shot out of his throat. Vice didn't even let Tony finish before sending another horrifically hard kick to the man's side. Tony felt himself fall over again, but he managed to stick out his arm and catch himself before he hit the ground. Vice paused for a moment and stepped back to the table covered in weapons of mass pain. He selected a sharp, short, blade with a glittering hilt. Tony had enough time to stand up and wipe off his mouth before he felt the sickening feeling of being stabbed in the back, literally. His vision blurred and he felt a numbness radiate from his back outwards. Then everything was dark, and the last thing he heard was Vice saying: "I guess you guys were too late."

The agents were harder to beat, but after the hulk got to them, they were pretty much down for the count. Steve led the team, minus Hulk who was still fighting, down one final corridor. They were now in a deserted research lab. They paused, wondering which door Tony was behind, then they heard a splash through one door and immediately headed that way. They were blocked by the same three agents they had left the Hulk to defeat. The agent's suits were a bit the worse for wear, but other than that they seemed fine, not a scratch on their bodies. The team leaped into action, quickly executing a maneuver they had practiced before. Isolate and defeat. Steve took on the lead agent, while Thor attack one to the right, and Natasha and Clint fought the last one.

Steve was evenly matched it seemed, he and his opponent trading blow after blow but not really getting anywhere. Thor was stronger than his opponent, but the agent he fought was quick, and dodged most of Thor's attacks. Clint and Natasha were perfectly coordinated with each other and their opponent was taking the most damage, already sporting three knife wounds and an arrow to the knee. Steve jumped back and pulled out his shield from it's strap on his back. He threw it at the agent and, while the man was distracted with dodging, grabbed his legs and pulled him down, quickly straddling the man and pummeling his face. Steve threw punch after punch, venting his fury at the people who were holding Tony captive. He only stopped when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Natasha, with a bruised Clint standing behind her. Thor had also defeated his opponent and they were ready to enter the last room.

Bursting through the door, Steve located first, the dark form of Vice, then, beneath him, a still body. It was Tony.

"Vice! What have you done with him?!" Steve's voice was raw when he screamed.

"I guess you guys were too late." A look of mock concern flashed across the villain's face.

Steve lunged at him, drawing him out into the hallway so that Natasha, Thor, and Clint could help Tony.

"Tony, wake up, we're here now, Tony!" Natasha pulled Tony over and onto his back, mentally making a checklist of his injuries. One broken leg, broken wrists, probably fractured rib, multiple gross bruises, black eye, water in the lungs, partial suffocation, and hundreds of cuts and gashes all over his body. But her heart nearly stopped when she felt the hilt of a dagger stuck deep in Tony's back, very close to his spine. She couldn't feel a pulse. Natasha growled and began performing something similar to CPR on the prone form in her lap. She didn't dare pull out the dagger, for fear of wounding him further. Steve had tied Vice up and walked back into the room, pushing in between Clint and Thor, his face a mask of worry and pain.

Natasha stopped pumping her fists on Tony's chest. "He has a pulse, but it is so weak that if we move him I fear he will die." Her voice was a whisper.

"Why is the Iron Man not moving?" Thor piped up, not quite as loud as he usually was, but still, it seemed, just as ignorant.

"Because he's really beat up. Duh." Clint responded, coping with the shock by forcing himself to be lighthearted.

"We need to call for medical help right now. Does anybody's comm still work?" Steve forced his emotions down, away, and became the stone cold commander that the team had only witnessed a few times before.

"Mine does, I'll radio right now." Clint stepped out of the room, his finger to his ear.

"Thor, go find Bruce, make sure he's okay and bring him here. Medical should be able to find their way here, our path of destruction should be enough guidance." Steve turned to Natasha, who was sitting with Tony's head in her lap, gently moving the hair out of his eyes. "Natasha, how long do you think we have before it's too late?"

"Not very long, not very long at all."

Tony was standing next to Yinsen. They were facing the doors to their cave cell, but this time, Tony didn't have his suit, he didn't have a plan. Yinsen just stood next to him, calmly chanting something Tony couldn't hear. Tony panicked, he heard the marching feet of the soldiers with lots of guns coming closer. He looked around the room, hoping to grab a hammer or something, but behind him the room was empty. He felt an overwhelming fear that he hadn't finished something. The soldiers burst through the doors and opened fire.

Tony felt like he was being stabbed all over, it was hard to breathe and he shut his eyes, trying at the same time to shield the bullets from Yinsen. When he opened his eyes he was met with blaring whiteness.

He couldn't see because it was so bright, he blinked and waited for his eyes to adjust. When he finally got a good look at his surroundings, he realized he was in a hospital bed. He tried to get up, but found he was strapped down with thick Velcro straps. Panicking a little bit, he struggled harder and sent a wave of pain through his back. He dimly heard the heart monitors beeping ferociously before he was out cold.

The second time he woke up he decided he would take it slower this time, find a way to undo the velcro without setting off another wave of pain from his back. He wiggled around, testing the straps for weak points, but before he could find one he heard footsteps coming closer. The door to his room opened and in came just the person he wanted to see the most.

"Hey, Tony, you're awake! Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" Pepper all but jumped on Tony when she saw his eyes focus on her. She was holding a bag and a box, both of which she set on the little table to Tony's right.

"Hey Honey, I'm home." Tony tried to say, but was met by the somewhat horrifying realization that he was on life support. A large tube was stuck down his throat, supplying nutrients, and another was down his nose, supplying a steady stream of air. All he could do was attempt to smile.

"Shh, Tony don't speak, I know this is going to be a problem, I'll go see if the doctor can take out those tubes since you're awake." Pepper leaned over Tony and gently kissed his forehead, then she left the room, her heels clacking on the hard linoleum floor tiles.

Tony waited patiently for a few minutes, breathing slowly and trying not to swallow since it felt really weird. He got very impatient though, and decided he would work some more on the velcro. No sooner had he released his left hand, when Pepper returned, closely followed by a few doctors and a nurse.

"Good morning , it's good to see you awake. We were very worried about the possibility of a coma. You are still gravely wounded though, so we will have to keep you restrained so you don't break your stitches. Again." The doctor spoke calmly, flipping through a thick folder. Tony gave Pepper a confused look at the 'again'.

"You've been dreaming Tony, having nightmares. You've been here for a week now and already ripped out your stitches three times. I'm sorry. But doctor, can't we pull out the life support lines?" Pepper knew how much Tony hated being restrained, and how much he hated hospitals.

"Yes of course, nurse, would you remove those please?" The nurse standing by moved over to Tony's side and gently removed the tubes. Tony nearly gagged as the last one was pulled up through his throat. Finally he could talk.

"What do you mean I have to be restrained!? I won't stand for it! Where are we anyway? Where's the team?" Tony's burst of speech made the doctors jump, but Pepper motioned for them to leave and she settled down to tell Tony the story.

"When the medical team finally got to you, you were on the threshold of death. You were really beat up, there was a knife in your back. Do you remember any of this?"

"Yeah, I blacked out after he stabbed me. Tell me we took care of him?"

"Yes, Steve tied him up, he's being kept in a high security cell on the helicarrier. We're currently in the medical wing of the helicarrier, and you team is being briefed right now. I'm sure they'll come down any second." Pepper sat on the bed and pushed Tony's hair out of his eyes.

"So how am I still alive?"

"You have the amazing medical crew to thank for that, they performed surgery on you right in that cave. When they brought you back out, I wasn't there to see it, I just flew in yesterday, but… I'll let the team tell you the rest, right now I have gifts!" Pepper stood up and grabbed the box that she had carried in with her. Flipping open the flaps on the top she pulled out a glass sheet surrounded by metal, it was one of Tony's tablets. "I know you can't use it with your arms restrained, so I asked JARVIS and he told me how to hook it up so that JARVIS is in the room with you. Pepper pulled a cord out of the box and plugged it into a socket on the wall, immediately JARVIS's voice came out of the speakers in the tablet.

"Good morning sir, I trust you approve of Miss Potts' idea?"

"Yes J, I do, thanks Pepper." Pepper beamed, she could see Tony's eyes light up when he had JARVIS with him.

"Knock knock!" The door to Tony's room opened and in stepped Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Thor, all smiling when they saw Tony awake.

"How do you feel?" Steve had visited Tony while he was unconscious, and now his concern showed as he asked Tony the question everyone wanted the answer to.

"Like I've been held captive by a psycho killer." Tony was joking, but he really did feel that way, his whole body ached and if he tried to shift, a sharp stab of pain went through his back. "But I should be asking you guys the same thing."

Steve had a bandage on his arm and Tony had noticed a slight limp when he entered. Natasha had a black eye and her suit was ripped. Clint had a large gash in his side that was covered by white bandages. Thor looked fine. Pepper quietly excused herself and grabbed her back and left.

"So anybody want to explain?" Tony coughed again and noticed the flashes of concern appear on his team's faces. When they didn't go away, he glanced down at his chest and saw the reason. His arc reactor was dead.

The pain slowly crept it's way into feeling as the effects of the dead reactor began to take place in Tony's body. Natasha ran out, on the instructions from Steve to find a new arc reactor. Steve bent over Tony and begged to know what to do. Tony was frozen, the pain slowly overwhelming his other senses and his body weakly scrabbled at the restraints. Somebody unstrapped his arms and he pulled them up to his chest, ripping off the shirt and probably some stitches. He pulled the reactor out of his chest and gasped as the connection severed. He was going into cardiac arrest, if Natasha didn't get back soon it would be too late. Tony vaguely heard shouting, and through his blurred vision he saw a bright blue light. He felt hands on his chest. He closed his eyes and screamed, finally losing control of his body.

"Hey, somebody help! Where's Natasha?"

"Quickly, in here, put it in here!"

"There, twist it in, not that way!"

"…."

"Is he okay?"

"Shh, he's breathing. I think he's asleep."

"Let's come back later then."

Tony felt himself floating in darkness. There was no up or down, just black nothingness. Then he felt a pull, a tug that sent him reeling. His body flipped and spun and then he was blinking open his eyes. He glanced to the side and saw Steve, huddled in a chair with his head in his hands.

"Hey stripes, what's wrong? Did someone not want to buy a bond?" Steve glanced up and Tony saw his face was red. He immediately regretted joking.

"Tony, it's been a few weeks, I thought I killed you when your arc reactor died, Natasha found a new one though. I think she keeps a stash." Steve straightened and tried to look like his normal self. Tony shifted, and when no new wave of pain arrived, he requested the straps be removed. Steve seemed in the right mood, and agreed to unstrap Tony, on the condition he would stay in his bed. Of course that didn't happen, once Tony had some help sitting up, he was off. Steve leaped after him as the scientist strolled purposefully towards the door.

"Tony, you aren't healed yet, you need more rest." Steve's efforts to stop Tony went ignored. Soon he gave up and just followed the man down the halls and finally to the bridge.

"Hey Patchy, miss me?" Fury's glare was slightly less menacing when he saw it was Tony insulting him.

"I suppose you're ready for active duty then?"

"Sir, he needs more rest, I tried to keep him in his room…"

"You really tried, huh?"

"Well…"

"Where's everyone else?" Tony broke the awkward silence.

"They are in the lab Stark." Fury dismissed them and they headed to the lab. When they got there, they were greeted with the smiling faces of the rest of the team. Thor came up and wrapped his arms around Tony, nearly squeezing the life out of him. Bruce glanced up from the screens and nodded as a greeting. Natasha and Clint patted Tony on the back. Tony felt great, he was surrounded by friends, and he was a super soldier. He knew they would all look out for him, he trusted each and every person in that room.

"It's good to be back."

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**And that concludes the story of the Not so Invincible Tony Stark. I hope you all liked it and thought it was well written... Please review and offer me ideas that you want me to write about. I love having prompts and getting reviews! **


	10. The Alternate Ending from Chap3

-ALTERNATE ENDING **This is the ending if I had ended the story after chapter 3, please read, I've had this sitting in my computer for a while and decided to give you guys the chapter, some Tony whump and then some happy endings :)**

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Tony wasn't seeing what was right in front of him. He was in some other world of pain. His chest hurt like fire and his ankle was acting up again. His vision was blurry and his ears felt like they were stuffed to bursting with cotton and spikes. He twisted his neck, trying to get a better position with the pain. He vaguely heard someone calling his name. But he was underwater, his lungs burned and he coughed, trying to breath again, but his body was too weak. He felt hands on his face and tried to open his eyes. His body was acting against him and it took all his strength to pry open his eyelids. He felt relief flood him when he recognized Natasha and Clint, and he thought he could hear Steve and Bruce yelling from far away.

"My party is here." He mumbled.

"Tony, what? You're not making any sense." Natasha grabbed his face again. He seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open.

"Not the right tacos, no shawarma…" His voice grated in his throat when he spoke, he wasn't even sure what he was saying.

"Steve, he needs medical attention right away." Natasha moved out of sight and Tony screamed when he was lifted out of the cockpit from behind. His scream seemed to echo in the ears of everyone around him. They never thought it was possible for such a horrifying sound to come out of any human being.

Tony was mumbling completely incoherent sentences after he was loaded onto a stretcher and placed in the twin jet. Steve and Bruce were with him, while Natasha and Clint had to take their twin jets back. Thor had arrived just before they left, and he volunteered to go with Natasha. The two paramedics were fixing up Tony's ankle as best they could, but they informed Steve that they would need to operate as soon as they got back to base. They gave Tony a tranquilizer shot so he wouldn't struggle and hurt himself more. Bruce was allowed to study his friend's chest around the arc reactor. He knew he had solved the problem once before, but in doing so he put Tony to sleep for six weeks. He had spent much of the time since then perfecting the injection that stabilized the connection of Tony's arc reactor to his skin. Only now he had left it in Stark Towers. He called Pepper and she agreed to meet him on the helicarrier when they got back, and she would bring the serum too.

Tony felt a warm blanket over him. He breathed deeply and felt no pain. His body was ache free and he was very glad. He smiled and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was looking at a bright light, there were people all around him, people in white coats. He tried to move away, but he was strapped down. He could hear things, but they sounded like they were coming from across the ocean. He saw one of the white-coat people lean over him and say, "Go to sleep." And he did, his eyes closed again, and he left consciousness behind.

The Avengers sat around in the activity level of the helicarrier. It was comprised of six sections, divided by hip height railings, each one set up with one team members personal needs: Bruce had a science table and meditation chair; Clint had a mini archery range and a high ceiling with lots of nooks to hide in; Natasha had a similarly high ceiling, but her section was more of a jungle gym with a firing range hidden in it; Steve had a couch and T.V. that was supposed to help him catch up to modern times, he also had multiple punching bags and a workout station; Thor's section was mostly empty, save some pictures of Asgard, since he was barely around and had missed the day they all told SHIELD what they wanted; Tony's section was similar to Bruce's in the fact it was science oriented, it also had some funny gizmos that nobody but Tony seemed to know their purpose. Everyone was in their individual section, except Tony. He had been immediately brought down to surgery the second the twin jet had landed. The rest of the team was told to wait away from the medical level.

A central pit was set up where all the six sections combined. Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Thor were sitting together on the low couch that was in the central pit. Bruce was in his section making adjustments to the serum that would hopefully solve Tony's arc reactor problem without putting him to sleep again. The large room was quiet, only their breathing and the sound of typing could be heard. They were like this for nearly two hours, before a messenger came in and told them that Tony was out of surgery and had survived with his ankle healing. He was still out cold though, mostly from the tranquilizers.

The team ran to the recovery room that Tony had been put in, they gathered around his bed. His left ankle was wrapped in a thick white cast up to his knee. His arms were also wrapped in smaller bandages due to the scrapes he had received before the plane crash. His breathing was shallow, but steady. His chest was still a mess though, and Bruce came forward holding a vial of light blue liquid. He hooked up the vial to Tony's IV dripper and the liquid slowly made it's way into Tony's blood stream. The effect was almost instantaneous, the boils and red skin on his chest began to fade away. His breathing became stronger and the arc reactor was a steady blue now, no more flickering. The group's relief could be seen reflected in everyone's eyes. They had done it. Now they would let him sleep for the night, since it was already nearing one in the morning. They agreed to come and wake him up the next morning.

The morning dawn clear and cold on the helicarrier. Agents were already running around, carrying out their duties, when the Avengers convened in the main lab. Bruce was turning off all of the tracking devices he had used to find Tony with. Thor was the last one to walk in, and they all left to go to Tony's room together. The head nurse let them in with a knowing nod. Tony would be needing a lot of sleep later, but for now it was okay to make sure he was going to wake up. Bruce quietly checked his vitals, all were reading out good. Then Steve reached down and shook Tony's shoulder gently. Tony's eyes fluttered and then opened completely. He looked at all his friends, gathered around him and smiled. They had done it. They had saved him from a fate he could not have imagined for himself. He looked down at his arc reactor and his clear chest. Then he frowned, suddenly worried it had been months again. But Steve shook his head.

"Only one day man. We made it just in time." The Captain gave Tony's shoulder a squeeze.

"Tony? Tony!" Pepper burst through the curtains around the bed and squeezed between Steve and Natasha, she leaned down and planted a big kiss on Tony's forehead. "I'm so glad you're alive, I was so worried. When Bruce called, I…Oh Tony!" Pepper couldn't hold back her tears any longer, they tumbled out of her eyes and dripped onto Tony's skin. His eyes were warm and he appeared to have forgotten that anyone but Pepper was in the room with him. He reached up and dried her eyes with his hand.

"I'm never going to leave again." He whispered.

A few days later, everyone had settled back into their routines. Tony had accepted the fact that he had lost six weeks, and had decided to live every day - well - exactly the same as he had… But he was definitely slightly nicer than before, save for some really snarky comments here and there.

The rest of the team was glad to have him back, and worked on getting him up to date on every thing that he had missed. They continued doing work for SHIELD and enjoyed destroying the cockroach bees when they found their hideout a few weeks later. Tony didn't feel any more problems from his arc reactor, although he did begin work on a new prototype that would mesh better with his skin.

All in all, they were one happy family.

The end.

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**I hope you liked my alternate ending, I didn't use this in the first place because I thought three chapters was a little short... Please review this chapter if you liked it, tell me which ending you like better!**


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